Rügen's Local Elections: A Wild Ride!
So, the local elections (Landratswahlen) in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern just wrapped up, and things got pretty interesting on the island of Rügen. There were some nail-biting races, surprising upsets, and enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat. Let's dive into some of the highlights – or should I say, the *highlights* and *lowlights* – from across the island.
Binz: A New Dawn?
Binz, Rügen's biggest seaside resort, saw a real shake-up. The Wählerinitiative Bürger für Binz (BfB) absolutely crushed it, going from three seats to a whopping five! That’s Mario Kurowski, Christian Mehlhorn, Helge Colmsee, Mario Böttcher, and Kai Deutschmann representing them. Talk about a power grab!
Another group, "Aus der Mitte," also made a strong showing, snagging four seats with Manuela and Dietrich Tomschin, Grit Drahota, and Jürgen Michalski. Together, BfB and "Aus der Mitte" now have a majority. They're promising to tackle some big issues, like stopping what they see as the "sell-out" of Binz and re-examining some past council decisions. Interesting times ahead!
The CDU held onto three seats (Ulf Dohrmann, Heike Reetz, and Helga Holtz), which is something, I suppose. The SPD, against all odds, actually *gained* a seat, welcoming young gun Marvin Müller (19) alongside veterans Ralf Reinbold and Norbert Schulz. Siegfried Klein from the AfD also got a seat, while Die Linke's representation shrunk to just Heinz Borchert. Election turnout numbers for Binz? Still MIA, unfortunately.
Mönchgut-Granitz: Incumbents Reign Supreme (Mostly)
The Mönchgut-Granitz area – that's Mönchgut, Göhren, Sellin, and Lancken-Granitz all rolled into one – was a bit of a mixed bag. Several mayoral races were seriously close.
In Göhren, Torsten Döring (SPD) won the mayoral election with 53.27% of the vote, beating out Markus Pigard and Oliver Herber. Bürger für Göhren (BfG) came out on top in the council race, grabbing four seats. Meanwhile, in Sellin, Reinhard Liedtke from the Selliner Wählergemeinschaft (SWG) got re-elected mayor with a landslide victory (71.72%!). The SWG also kept their council majority (5 out of 12 seats). And in Mönchgut, Detlef Besch (WG Mönchgut) comfortably won re-election (72.92%), keeping his party's seven out of ten council seats. Lancken-Granitz saw Henny Hoffman (FWLG) easily re-elected mayor with 78.70% of the vote.
Turnout in this area varied quite a bit, from 56.9% to 69.86% – goes to show how much local elections can depend on the specific community.
The Rest of Rügen: A Patchwork of Results
The trend of incumbent wins and power shifts continued across the rest of Rügen, including towns like Baabe, Zirkow, Dranske, Glowe, Wiek, Putgarten, Altenkirchen, Breege, Sagard, and Lohme. Each place had its own story, its own local flavor, leading to a really varied distribution of council seats.
In Westrügen, things got a little… chaotic. There was a mayoral runoff in Altefähr, and a lottery to decide a council seat in Schaprode because of a tie! The Bergen area also had its share of drama, with varying levels of competition and voter turnout.
So, What Did We Learn?
Rügen's local elections painted a pretty dynamic picture. Some incumbents sailed to easy victories, while others had to fight tooth and nail. It really highlights how much local issues matter, and how diverse political preferences can be, even on a single island. The newly elected councils have their work cut out for them, navigating the varied expectations and priorities of their constituents.
