Shift to the right | No donations for the association: Wurzen dries up civil society

The decision came as no surprise to the "Network Democratic Culture" (NDK) in Wurzen, but it is nevertheless a severe blow to the work of the democracy association. On Tuesday, the city council, by a clear majority, refused to accept private donations that would have covered the municipal share of significantly higher funding from one of Saxony's cultural regions. The council had already rejected a municipal grant of €12,900 in a secret vote in April . A fundraising campaign for the NDK was subsequently launched, but this has now come to nothing.

The city council's refusal was supported by a broad right-wing conservative majority. Twelve votes were cast against accepting the donations. These came from city council members from the AfD, the CDU, and the "Citizens for Wurzen" initiative. Only two council members from the Left Party and the independent mayor Marcel Buchta voted in favor of the financial grant; several representatives were absent. In April, twelve of the 20 city council members voted against funding the NDK; this is the combined number of votes cast by the AfD and CDU.

Left-wing state parliament member Jule Nagel stated that it was not surprising that the AfD was campaigning against democratic civil society. However, it was shocking that the Wurzen CDU, led by state parliament member Kay Ritter, was "working with the extreme right to massively weaken the NDK, a flagship project for democracy and culture." She called on CDU state leader and state premier Michael Kretschmer to "speak clearly" to his party's local elected representatives. Green state parliament member Katja Meier stated that it was a "political betrayal if the AfD, CDU, and Citizens for Wurzen would rather let 150,000 euros in state funds go to waste than secure funding for a recognized democracy association."

"We have to put pressure on the country to prevent this from becoming fashionable."

Torsten Pötzsch , former mayor of Weißwasser

The vote in Wurzen once again reveals a glaring gap in Saxony's Cultural Space Act. Through this law, the Free State uses state funds to finance many regional museums, theaters, and socio-cultural centers (SKZ). However, the prerequisite is that the so-called "host communities" contribute an "appropriate" share. The AfD, which has strong representation in many city and municipal councils since the local elections in June 2024, has used this leverage to dry up undesirable institutions. In early summer, the SKZ Hafenstube Telux in Weißwasser also ran into trouble because an AfD-led council majority refused to contribute the host community's share of €44,000. A fundraising campaign was subsequently launched there, too. Unlike in Wurzen, the city council ultimately allowed the city to accept the funds.

Nevertheless, Torsten Pötzsch, the long-time mayor of Weißwasser, pointed out the weakness in the law even back then. By denying the mandatory municipal subsidy, "things could be deliberately shut down," the non-partisan local politician told the "nd" newspaper, and announced that he would lobby state politicians and the responsible ministry for a correction. In his view, the law should allow the municipal subsidy to be replaced by third-party funds, such as donations, without the city council being able to block it. "We have to put pressure on the state so that this doesn't become fashionable," said Pötzsch. Jule Nagel also warned that Wurzen was in danger of becoming a "blueprint" for other places. The state government must ensure that funding also flows to "where extreme right-wing propaganda and lies are intended to deprive civil society actors of their basis for work." Meier also called for "binding regulations at the state level so that recognized bodies promoting democracy are no longer dependent on party-political power games in the municipalities."

The NDK, which has existed for a quarter of a century and is one of the most renowned democracy associations in Saxony, had already spoken of a "decidedly politically motivated attack on an alternative part of democratic civil society" after the vote in April. The decision and the associated loss of funding have serious consequences for the association, even if its existence is not threatened and it does not have to cease its work entirely. Managing director Martina Glass recently calculated for the "nd" that 60 to 70 percent of the funding comes from the state, including from the Weltoffenes Sachsen (WOS) program . Educational work at schools in the district can therefore continue, and other programs will also continue. "Programs like WOS ensure that we don't have to go home right away," said Glass.

However, many of the services that the NDK has previously provided to the city community at its cultural and community center at Domplatz 5 are up for discussion. This affects around 30 cultural events per year, open spaces for clubs and initiatives, and the support of volunteers. "As an open house, " Glass said, "the D5 would no longer exist in its current form." With Tuesday's vote, the city council has thus caused significant damage, especially to the social and cultural life of Wurzen.