Sternberg's re -election: controversial election campaign causes excitement!

Sternberg's re -election: controversial election campaign causes excitement!

On May 11, 2025, the elections to the district administrator in the district of Ludwigslust-Parchim took place, in which Stefan Sternberg from the SPD clearly secured his re-election with 57.9 percent of the vote. But as soon as he has taken over the office again, the election campaign that led to this victory is overshadowed by violent criticism. The election campaign is described as unfair because the opponent accuses Sternberg of having gained advantages through excessive advertising and great appearances. This reports NDR.

One of the central criticism concerns the number of large posters and the lush presence on social media that speak against the spirit of fair elections. The CDU and the Greens in particular say that the equal opportunities of other candidates are at risk from the aggressive advertising practice. CDU district chairman Wolfgang Waldmüller puts a quiet criticism of the form of the election campaign, while the Green candidate Philipp Lübbert describes the whole thing as "gray area" and criticizes the lack of transparency about economic relationships.

criticism of transparency

The allegations do not tear off. Transparency International has taken Sternberg in the lack of transparency in relation to the connections to its election advertisers. Among these “testimonials” are some well-known personalities such as Jörg Klingohr, head of the Golchener Hof, and Gerd Kropf, Brigadiereral a.d. and disaster protection expert. Klingohr, according to the critical reports between 2020 and 2024, has almost 60,000 euros for services from the district, while Kropf and his company received around 110,000 euros for disaster protection services from the district treasury in recent years. This gives the opponents further material for their arguments against Sternberg's election campaign.

Surprisingly, however, the SPD emphasizes that the election campaign was not more expensive than seven years ago, with costs in the upper five -digit range that is less than 100,000 euros. This reasoning is supported by the chairpersons of the SPD district association, Christine Klingohr and Willem Smakman. Both praise Sternberg's success and its ability to lead the district through crises. This continuity is also intended to form the basis for its future projects and investments, which include, among other things, improvements in outpatient health care, the expansion of the call bus system and testing the autonomous bus driving.

A look at future goals

As for the future, Sternberg not only wants to set accents in health care, but also to continue in education, security and the development of the infrastructure. The successful nomination of 98.5 percent of delegates on January 11th during a general meeting shows that Sternberg has a strong support within his party. Compared to the turbulent elections in 2025, the question arises how he will address the reviews raised by the election campaign in his new term.

In an age in which mass media play a central role in the election campaign - both for information and for mobilizing voters - it remains to be seen how Sternberg and his team will react to the prevailing topics. The fact that the media make presence for campaign strategies could be of crucial importance for the SPD. Studies show that reporting on candidates can significantly influence their public perception. In this context, it is important to check how Sternberg can create transparency in the future in order to gain and maintain the trust of voters, so reported the [Federal Center for Political Education] (https://www.bpb.de/themen/politises-ssystem/wahlen-in-deutschland/335672/massenmedien-und- Wahlkampie/).