Far-right AfD eyes control of German town favourite of Hollywood

June 14, 2019   

(AFP) Its cobblestone lanes and Baroque architecture are so quaint that Hollywood directors often come calling, but the German town of Goerlitz may soon have a new claim to notoriety.

A run-off election in the small city of around 55,000 people on the Polish border on Sunday could end in the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party winning its first mayoral seat.

Mainstream parties have thrown their support behind the centre-right contender from Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party, meaning AfD candidate Sebastian Wippel is seen as unlikely to triumph.

But Wippel won the first round in late May with 36 percent of the vote, sending shockwaves through the country already bracing for a strong AfD showing in Goerlitz’s Saxony state in a September election.

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