In the Thuringian district of Hildburghausen, neo-Nazi Tommy Frenck made it into a runoff election for the district administrator position. The right-wing extremist restaurateur appears harmless, but is deeply rooted in the scene. It is questionable whether he should have even been allowed to compete.

In the district election for Hildburghausen in Thuringia, neo-Nazi Tommy Frenck came second in the runoff election and thus reached the runoff election. More than 8,000 people voted for the right-wing extremist politician, which corresponds to around 25 percent.

The fact that AfD candidates perform strongly in district elections in East Germany is no longer news. Last year, Robert Sesselmann even won the election in the Thuringian district of Sonneberg. What is even more worrying is that a neo-Nazi who is known throughout Germany is reaching a runoff election.

Frenck openly flaunts his closeness to National Socialism: he runs an inn in the village of Kloster Veßra, which is a kind of place of pilgrimage for the right-wing scene. A black, red and white Reich flag flies in front of the restaurant, and the dishes on the menu cost, for example, 8.88 or 18.88 euros – codes that allude to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi slogan “Heil Hitler”.

Frenck is also known nationally for the right-wing rock festivals that he organizes. He also runs an online shop where you can buy, among other things, mascots of the Ku Klux Klan. There is a tattoo on Frenck’s neck with the words “Aryan” – meaning Aryan.

How is it that someone like that has the chance to become a district administrator? On the one hand, this has to do with the fact that Frenck is openly right-wing extremist, but also as a “regional politician, entrepreneur, innkeeper and benefactor” with roots in the region. The Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution describes Frenck’s strategy as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

On the other hand, Frenck’s electoral success is due to the absence of the AfD. In Hildburghausen she was unable to field a candidate for the district election. In addition to Frenck, the independent Kristin Obst, Dirk Lindner from the CDU and Sven Gregor from the Free Voters ran – the latter won the first round of the election with around 42 percent and will compete against Frenck in the runoff.

Frenck’s success shows that a significant proportion of people who might have voted for the AfD were apparently prepared to vote for a neo-Nazi. However, Frenck apparently also has a solid core of supporters: When he ran in the 2018 district election, he already achieved almost 17 percent.

So you could have been warned. Nevertheless, Frenck’s candidacy was not prevented. That would have been possible. The Thuringian local election law states that you cannot be elected as a district administrator “if you do not guarantee that you will at all times stand up for the free, democratic basic order in the sense of the Basic Law and the state constitution”.

With Frenck this can be doubted. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution states that Frenck’s voting group “Bündnis Zukunft Hildburghausen” (BZH) has “developed into the leading neo-Nazi group in the Hildburghausen district.” Information from the Office for the Protection of the Constitution was also made available to the election committee, which had to decide on Frenck’s candidacy – albeit at very short notice before the vote.

In the decisive vote, the district returning officer and two CDU representatives still spoke out in favor of Frenck’s approval. Two committee members voted against. Two things may have led to the result: Firstly, Frenck was personally present at the vote, which could have had an intimidating effect.

On the other hand, there may have been fear of legal consequences. If Frenck had been excluded from the outset, he could have appealed the decision. In the worst case scenario, the election would have had to be repeated.

The question of Frenck’s eligibility is not yet off the table. If he actually wins the runoff election, the state administration office could re-examine his eligibility. This was also the case when AfD candidate Sesselmann was elected in Sonneberg last year.