AfD and Business Cooperation Take Center Stage in Uckermark Landrat Race
AfD and business cooperation dominate Uckermark’s landrat race as Felix Teichner challenges incumbent Karina Dörk, spotlighting jobs, energy and local industry issues.
Opening Forum Highlights Local Stakes
A candidate forum in Prenzlau put AfD and business cooperation at the center of the campaign for Uckermark’s new Landrat. Felix Teichner, the AfD challenger, and incumbent Karina Dörk, a CDU politician, faced about 70 regional entrepreneurs at a hotel event where light-hearted moments sat beside serious policy exchanges. The encounter underscored how local economic concerns are shaping voter choices and business calculations ahead of the vote.
The forum was organised by regional business associations that argued all relevant candidates should be heard. Representatives from the local chamber of industry and commerce said exclusion was not an option, reflecting a pragmatic mood among some employers who worry that ostracism would leave them without a voice in shaping policy.
Candidates Use Business Platform to Argue Priorities
On stage Teichner cultivated a moderate tone focused on concrete regional needs rather than national party rhetoric. The 35-year-old, who was raised in Prenzlau and first elected to the state parliament in 2019 as an industrial mechanic by training, repeatedly emphasised bureaucracy reduction and administrative reform. Those themes resonated with many in the room who described regulatory delays and paperwork as immediate obstacles to investment and hiring.
Dörk responded by stressing the importance of attracting skilled foreign workers and promoting a welcoming environment for sectors like tourism. The incumbent framed migration policy as an economic necessity for filling vacancies, while Teichner concentrated on streamlined permitting and infrastructure projects to boost local business activity.
Economic Pressure Points in Uckermark
Uckermark’s economy is predominantly small- and medium-sized enterprises, with a concentration in skilled trades, construction and services. Larger industrial employers are rare, with the PCK refinery and a paper industry cluster in Schwedt providing notable exceptions and supply-chain demand for regional suppliers. Local leaders point to persistent problems: a reported unemployment rate around 11 percent, skilled-worker shortages, rising energy costs and slow planning procedures.
These structural strains make business cooperation with local politicians especially salient in the campaign. Entrepreneurs attending the forum repeatedly raised practical questions about permits for housing and commercial projects, the future of the refinery and targeted measures to support tourism and local supply chains.
Businesses Revisit Contact Policies with AfD
The Uckermark debate mirrors a national argument about whether companies should engage with the AfD or maintain political distance. Last year a prominent association of family entrepreneurs briefly lifted a ban on contact with the party and then reversed course after backlash, prompting some corporations to quit the group. Those episodes have left business associations and individual employers divided over whether dialogue risks normalising extremist positions or is necessary to protect regional economic interests.
In Uckermark, several business figures signal a willingness to talk with an AfD candidate who speaks to local economic grievances. At the same time, the party’s classification by the Brandenburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution as extremist remains a red line for many and shapes how firms frame any engagement. The tension between democratic inclusion and reputational risk is a recurring theme among regional managers.
Policy Disputes Focus on Refinery, Permits and Tourism
Specific policy proposals emerged during the exchanges. Teichner argued for preserving the PCK refinery and for accelerating residential and commercial permitting to stimulate construction and ease labor shortages. He also highlighted cycling infrastructure as a practical tourism and mobility investment that could draw visitors from nearby Berlin. Dörk, meanwhile, linked economic vitality to social openness and explicitly called for a welcoming culture to entice foreign professionals.
On energy policy Teichner suggested the refinery should remain a strategic employer and signalled openness to diverse supply scenarios in the future. Both candidates nonetheless framed their proposals in local terms — jobs, permits and infrastructure — rather than in broader national ideological debates.
Campaign Controversy and Business Reactions
The campaign has not been free of controversy. A party poster that incorporated imagery many associated with National Socialist persecution sparked local outrage, and critics argued it undercut efforts by businesses to separate pragmatic cooperation from extremist symbolism. Teichner publicly distanced himself from that imagery and told regional media he did not endorse the symbol’s connotations.
For entrepreneurs, such incidents complicate simple calculations about engagement. Some see the AfD’s electoral strength in the region as a reason to ensure representation on economic issues, while others fear reputational damage and moral compromise if parties with controversial symbols or classifications gain influence in local decision-making.
The outcome of the landrat vote will thus be watched closely by companies and civic organisations in Uckermark and beyond, as it may reshape how local politics and business cooperation interact in a region facing persistent economic headwinds.
The Uckermark contest is now a test of whether local economic interests will override political taboos or whether concern about extremist associations will keep significant parts of the private sector at a distance, with both paths carrying clear implications for jobs, investment and community cohesion.
