Episode 7 | Can an enemy of the constitution become mayor?

Dr. Dominik Lück | Dr. Maximilian Dombert

Podcast

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01.10.2026

Episode 7 – Can someone who is an enemy of the constitution become mayor?

Before any election takes place, electoral committees decide who will even appear on the ballot paper. But are they allowed to simply exclude a candidate – and if so, when? Maximilian Dombert and Dominik Lück use recent cases from Ludwigshafen, Neukloster and North Rhine-Westphalia as a starting point to examine one of the most fascinating tensions in local government law: the right to be elected versus the requirement of a robust democracy to keep enemies of the system at bay.

It is clear, however, that it always depends on the individual case. Mere membership of the AfD is not enough. However, specific statements, membership of anti-constitutional organisations or a history of disciplinary offences may well be sufficient – provided the electoral committee can justify this clearly. And the way in which the federal states have regulated this is anything but uniform.

The nucleus of democracy - municipal law with Dombert & Lück

Municipal law in an understandable, practical way and without paragraph-by-paragraph: In this podcast, the lawyers and specialist lawyers for administrative law speak Dr. Dominik Lück and Dr. Maximilian Dombert on the legal issues that cities, municipalities and municipal companies deal with on a daily basis.

As partners in the law firm Dombert Rechtsanwälte, they have been advising local authorities at the interface of law, politics and administration for many years. In their talks, they take you into their everyday professional lives, discuss current developments in municipal law and explain complex topics in such a way that they remain understandable even without a legal background.

This is because many of the major social issues are decided locally: Building and infrastructure projects, healthcare, the environment, schools, housing and municipal companies. It is precisely here - in the cities and municipalities - that the nucleus of democracy lies.

The podcast is aimed at local authorities, municipal companies, politicians and anyone who wants to understand how the law works at municipal level.

A podcast about local law, administration and politics - understandable, practical and with a look behind the scenes of municipal decision-making processes.