Text by Maria Helmis-Arend
As far-right ideologies and violence are increasingly shaping the political landscape, local politicians in Germany are faced every day with an exhausting challenge: how can they support their communities and defend local democracy while they themselves are exposed to threats from the right?
Since the brutal attack on Dresden local politician Matthias Ecke in May 2024 at the latest, a feeling that had been gradually spreading among local volunteer politicians* in recent years has become an omnipresent reality: anyone who works for diversity and democracy as a local political officeholder knows that – in addition to vicious verbal attacks in person or online – they are also increasingly exposed to the risk of physical attacks.
The instigators behind this political climate are no longer exclusively found outside our municipal institutions: as representatives of far-right parties, they are often members of district, city and municipal parliaments. There, they present their toxic rhetoric, distort discourse, scandalise and twist facts. They poison democratic discourse with disinformation, hate speech and the constant invocation of doomsday scenarios.
At a time in which the answers to our multiple crises and societal change must inevitably be increasingly complex (even in local politics), the seemingly simple answers from the right can quickly become attractive. On top of this comes the increasingly precarious budget situation of local authorities and institutions. This situation makes it difficult for local politicians to demonstrate rapid and effective responses to local issues. Right-wing forces are jumping into this policy implementation dilemma at the local level with delight. One of the biggest challenges is the narrative these forces are fuelling, stigmatising volunteer politicians as alleged antagonists of the common good and portraying democratic processes as ineffective.
*While many political offices can fill a whole day, not all politicians occupy an office as a full-time job. In many European countries, such as Germany, a council membership at municipality level is performed additionally to another employment. Hence, meetings must be scheduled at work-free times, usually in the evening. These politicians usually receive a financial compensation for their efforts. In some cases, politicians receive a fixed allowance for occupying an office, in other cases, the politicians are awarded a renumeration for each council meeting or community work they attend. In either cases, the awarded sums are not sufficient to replace the income of a normal job. Local politicians therefore willingly trade their free time to participate at democratic decision–making on a local level.
How the right undermines local policy-making
In addition to their anti-democratic and violence-inciting agenda, right-wing forces are becoming increasingly effective at paralysing local politics through the use of parliamentary instruments. For example, right-wing representatives are making inflationary use of specially called current affairs debates (Aktuelle Stunden in German), where they are not actually trying to solve a specific problem nor to reach an understanding with other parliamentary groups. Secret roll-call votes are requested for the simplest votes in the city councils, which often drags the meetings on into the late hours of the evening. The administration is flooded with questions about the costs of integration policy and cultural policy oriented toward equality and diversity. Important decisions are artificially delayed by requesting legal reviews.
All of this is constantly accompanied by hostility towards the speakers of the democratic parliamentary groups and a general questioning of pluralistic world views, not only in parliament, but also via the social media channels of these enemies of democracy. Their social media channels in particular receive considerable attention and resonance from the population. The consequences of these obstruction tactics are devastating: besides consuming an enormous amount of time, it is becoming increasingly difficult for volunteer local politicians from democratic parties to work effectively for the actual interests of the community.
More and more volunteer local politicians are therefore choosing to throw in the towel. They are out of energy; they can no longer explain and justify to themselves sacrificing their free time for something that so obviously takes a toll on their mental strength. At the same time, young people, women and people with migrant backgrounds in particular are increasingly deciding against taking on local political responsibilities due to the brutal political climate and toxic rhetoric. This is leading to a serious problem of representation in local politics, threatening to further alienate the population from local political actors.
Fighting back
This makes it all the more important to strengthen local politicians and politics. First and foremost, municipalities must be given greater financial support. Peoples’ daily realities can be effectively improved only if local budgets are sound; they also hold the key to liveable cities and municipalities beyond the mere provision of basic services forming the basis for robust trust in democracy.
However, the physical protection of those involved in local politics must also take centre stage: 60 per cent of local politicians have already been subjected to harassment or other forms of hostility. We therefore need a clear legal framework to report, prosecute and punish online hate speech and hostility, as well as an expansion of counselling services for those affected by right-wing hate speech and intimidation tactics.
Beyond such protection, voluntary work in local politics can also be supported through improved compensation and structures: meeting allowances could be raised, hybrid appointments offered and meeting schedules made more family-friendly.
Furthermore, it is necessary that local politics is continually explained to the populace. This requires the strengthening of political education programmes (instead of cutting political education from our schools’ curricula) as well as the preservation of independent municipal reporting structures.
Finally, the resilience of local politics can be strengthened at the level of concrete interactions: right-wing narratives and half-truths must be countered by focussing on the central social issues of the community. Harsh rhetoric be countered and either/or logics dissolved. The democratic discourse of localities must once again pursue the goal of reaching a common understanding about the best way to create a truly liveable community. This also means not shying away from direct personal encounters but rather seeking them, especially now. This is the best way to overcome reservations and fears of contact. If local politics is becoming increasingly polarised and everyone is only catering to their own echo chambers: how can a joint endeavour against the enemies of democracy succeed?
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