In Tübingen, a dispute between Tübingen’s Mayor Boris Palmer (independent) and AfD state chief Markus Frohnmaier began on Friday evening. Dozens of visitors disrupted the process with speech choirs right at the beginning of the event. Frohnmaier is a “Nazi”, they called, initially under the applause of a large part of the visitors.
Some dozen interferers continued their speeches, Frohnmaier’s statement about his view of the situation of freedom of expression in Germany was almost completely drowned out by them. Moderator Joachim Knape asked to stop the disorders and take the seats again, otherwise the event will be moved to an outbuilding and continued without a spectator.
“I am here to talk to you. And I think it is important that we do it,” said Frohnmaier. Democracy live from the dispute, to discuss with each other. Anyone who wants to get an idea of ”how left -wing freedom in Germany deals with freedom of expression today only has to look at this audience,” he said. It was only when police officers came into the hall that most interferers left the hall.
Palmer thanks the police
Palmer then thanked the police and those who – outside in front of the hall – peacefully demonstrated. “Please understand that I have the basic conviction that you have to talk to each other in democracy.” For this reason, as the one “who has the house right here”, he asked the police to ask the stubs peacefully to leave the hall, even if it was difficult for him.
Most interferers followed the call. “I would like to thank you for that too,” said Palmer. The city of Tübingen is the organizer of the dispute in the Hermann-Hepper-Halle, so Palmer referred to his house right as mayor. The police said on X that she had spoken out in terms of space.
Shortly before 8 p.m., the moderator began – Knape is a professor of rhetoric at the University of Tübingen – and the two discussion partners Darafhin again with the debate about freedom of expression.
Palmer wanted to talk about six different themed blocks with Frohnmeier on Friday from 7 p.m. for about two hours, three each proposed by Frohnmaier and three by Palmer: freedom of expression, climate protection, internal security and migration, residential construction and social location, Baden-Württemberg as well as democracy and the rule of law.
Palmer, Frohnmaier and the spectator in the audience should be stopped in exactly the evening. The city of Tübingen streams the debate live on the Internet. Because of the delayed start, the event was extended until 9:45 p.m.
The conversation was accompanied by a massive line -up of the police. Numerous emergency vehicles could be seen in the side streets around the hall in Tübingen, and the entrances to the locked area were checked by civil servants.
Frohnmaier is considered a close confidant of Weidels
Palmer has been the mayor of Tübingen since 2007. The 53 -year -old politician is considered to be controversial and strong – and that’s why it was also one of the most famous mayors of the Republic. He received invitations to numerous talk shows and was once even considered a possible successor to Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann.
After several scandals, he had left the party in 2023 for several scandals that had little to do with his office as mayor – his membership had previously rested.
Frohnmaier has been a member of the AfD member of the Bundestag since 2017 and is considered a close confidant of party leader Alice Weidel, whose spokesman he was once. Since 2022 he has also been running the AfD Southwest Landesverband. Frohnmaier is considered one of the most influential representatives of the right wing of his party. He is a co-founder of the now dissolved AfD youth organization Young alternative. He was repeatedly criticized for his contacts with Russian politicians. In the state election on March 8, 2026, Frohnmaier runs as a “Prime Minister candidate”. Since the other parties exclude a coalition with the AfD, the AfD would have to achieve the absolute majority so that this happens.
According to police, more than a thousand demonstrators had protested against the event before the debate. The speakers criticized the debate and mayor Palmer Scharf.
He had previously said that he wanted to disclose the content of the AfD in the debate and show that it was incompetent in many areas. The demonstrators think that is pointless. The AfD voters were not interested in the facts, said a representative of the grandmas against the right. “The AfD is not too disenchanted at the content of the content, as Mr. Palmer says.”
“You can’t dance on two firmly”
The demonstration was initially largely peaceful, and there were temporarily wrangling between the police and demonstrators on the edge. The police had also prepared for violent demonstrators. Palmer had previously appealed to the participants of the demos to keep away from those who did not intend to demonstrate peacefully.
On Friday he looked at a counter -demonstration that the Left Party had organized. He had previously assured the announced counter -demonstrations and also offered them speeches during the demonstrations. But the applicants rejected that. “You can’t dance on two firms,” said Katharina Poppei from the board of the Tübingen Linken district association to the SWR. The demonstrations were also explicitly directed against Palmer, which offers the AfD a stage.
In return, Palmer had agreed to the dispute in return for the cancellation of an AfD demonstration in mid-July. At that time, the AfD had planned a demonstration in downtown Tübingen. Retailers feared losses of sales and turned to Palmer whether the demonstration could be laid. The AfD then offered to forego the event when Palmer publicly discussed with AfD MPs. The mayor got involved in this.
