The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has secured a symbolic local victory in Brandenburg after René Stadtkewitz became the party’s first directly elected full-time mayor in the eastern German state.
Stadtkewitz won the snap mayoral election in Zehdenick, a town north of Berlin, with 58.4 percent of the vote, according to the preliminary result. His nearest challenger, FDP candidate Stephan von Hundelshausen, finished far behind on 28.6 percent, while independent candidate Wolf-Gernot Richardt took 7.8 percent and Dennis Latzke of the Party of Progress received 5.2 percent.
The result makes Stadtkewitz the first full-time AfD mayor in Brandenburg to win office directly as an AfD candidate. Brandenburg previously had a full-time mayor who later joined the party, Arne Raue in Jüterbog, but Raue had won his elections in 2011 and 2019 as an independent before joining the AfD in 2024.
Stadtkewitz is a former CDU member of the Berlin state parliament who split from the center-right party in 2010. He later founded Die Freiheit, a party he led nationally until 2013, before joining the AfD in 2024. He has also spoken at a Pegida demonstration, where he described Islam as a violent and intolerant “ideology.”
The Zehdenick election followed the removal of the town’s previous mayor, Alexander Kretzschmar, who had defeated Stadtkewitz in a runoff election last year. Kretzschmar was later voted out of office after going on sick leave just 11 days after taking up the post and remaining absent. Since then, deputy mayor Marco Kalmutzke had been overseeing the town’s administration.
“I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your trust,” Stadtkewitz wrote in a message on Facebook late on Sunday. “I will be mayor for all people of Zehdenick — regardless of whom you voted for today. The time has now come to leave the election campaign behind us and get to work together,” he added.
Unser Kandidat René Stadtkewitz setzte sich mit 58,4 Prozent der Stimmen durch. Er ist somit der erste hauptamtliche AfD-Bürgermeister in Brandenburg, der direkt gewählt wurde. Immer mehr Bürger erkennen, dass es eine Politikwende nur mit uns gibt!#Bürgermeister #Wahl #AfD… pic.twitter.com/v3dDNkPI8p
— Martin Hess (@Martin_Hess_MdB) May 10, 2026
AfD figures celebrated the result as evidence of the party’s growing momentum. AfD MP Martin Hess wrote that Stadtkewitz had prevailed with 58.4 percent and was now “the first full-time AfD mayor in Brandenburg to be directly elected,” adding that more citizens were recognizing that “a change in policy is only possible with us.”
Dr. Gottfried Curio, an AfD MP and domestic policy spokesperson, called the result “a strong signal for the upcoming elections in Berlin” — the neighboring state is heading to the polls later this year.
The victory comes as the AfD continues to post strong numbers in polling at both the state and federal level. In Saxony-Anhalt, an Infratest dimap poll recently put the party on 41 percent, well ahead of the CDU on 26 percent, with Die Linke on 12 percent and the SPD on 7 percent.
The numbers suggest that forming a government without the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt could become increasingly difficult, particularly if the CDU maintains its refusal to cooperate with the party.
Nationally, the party has also reached record highs. An Insa poll for Bild am Sonntag recently put the AfD on 28 percent, ahead of the CDU/CSU bloc on 24 percent. The SPD stood at 14 percent, the Greens at 12 percent, and Die Linke at 11 percent, while both the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance and the FDP were below the 5 percent threshold required to enter parliament at 3 percent.
A separate YouGov poll also showed the AfD ahead, placing the party on 27 percent compared with 23 percent for the CDU.
Despite the AfD’s polling strength, Germany’s other major parties continue to rule out coalition deals with it. That means the party’s rising support could result in a significant democratic deficit in Germany, with voters of the largest party not represented in government.
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