Potsdam in election fever: Dirk Harder fights for the mayor!

Potsdam in election fever: Dirk Harder fights for the mayor!

Potsdam, Deutschland - On September 21, 2025, Potsdam is facing a new election of the mayor. The background to this election is the deselection of the previous incumbent Mike Schubert from the SPD, which took place on May 25, 2025 by a citizens' decision. With this, 68.3 % of the voters voted against his whereabouts. The turnout was 37.2 %. A total of 143,200 citizens were entitled to vote. Schubert, who had been criticized for leadership failure and a VIP ticket scandal, accepted the decision and described it as a "expression of democratic will formation".

The city of Potsdam sees a possibility for a fresh start and a departure of political blockages. In this context, the district association of Die Linke Dirk Harder nominated as a new candidate who is independent. The official nomination recently took place at a general meeting. Harder, who was born in Potsdam in 1967, has a long history in the field of youth work, including head of the city youth ring and the youth culture center. He currently works at the district association of Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO) in Potsdam and is a member of the youth welfare committee. A total of five candidates and a candidate compete for election, the nomination period ends on July 17, 2025.

The opposition candidates

with Dirk Harder, several other candidates compete for the potential mayor. The SPD has nominated Severin Fischer, the Berlin Secretary of Economic Affairs. The AfD goes into the race with Chaled-Uwe Said, the chairman of the AfD city parliamentary group, while the CDU Willo Göpel brings into play as the group leader in the city parliament. The non -party Noosha Aubel, which previously worked as a deputy, is supported by the Greens. The individual applicant Jörn Karlipp rounds off the field of candidates.

The upcoming local elections in Germany are shaped by a high degree of political participation and enjoy the basis of the Basic Law, which in Article 28, paragraph 1 prescribes the implementation of general, direct, free and secret elections. These elections are a central opportunity for citizens to influence the local events. As a rule, the term of office of directly elected mayors between five and eight years takes, which will also apply to the upcoming election in Potsdam.

The interest in the Potsdam mayor election is great, especially after Mike Schubert's turbulent deselection. Political observers are excited to see whether the next few months will pave the way for a changed political landscape in Potsdam. The coming weeks will be decisive to determine who can prevail and which topics the voters will move.