Sunday’s local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, delivered a dramatic shakeup in the region’s political landscape, marking a historic defeat for the Social Democrats (SPD) in the industrial powerhouse of Dortmund and underscoring the ongoing struggle of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) to break into mainstream city politics. Meanwhile, in Berlin, the AfD—despite its recent electoral gains—faces eviction from its party headquarters after a contentious legal battle, signaling the persistent resistance it encounters from both the public and the establishment.
For the first time since 1946, Dortmund, often described as Germany’s largest working-class city, elected a non-Social Democrat mayor. Alexander Khalouti, representing the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), unseated the SPD and ended its 78-year reign. The CDU’s victory in Dortmund was not an isolated event: the party also clinched mayoralties in Leverkusen and Bielefeld, consolidating its strength across North Rhine-Westphalia’s urban and rural districts. According to state election results reported on September 28, 2025, the CDU’s performance was particularly robust in rural areas, while the SPD managed to hold onto several industrial centers.
"That hurts," SPD state chairwoman Sarah Philipp admitted after the stinging loss in Dortmund, as cited in election coverage. The SPD, however, managed to retain control in other major cities. In Cologne, Torsten Burmeister of the SPD edged out Green Party candidate Berivan Aymaz to keep the mayor’s office in Social Democratic hands. The SPD also held onto Oberhausen, Gelsenkirchen, Wuppertal, and Mülheim an der Ruhr. The Greens, for their part, succeeded in winning Münster from the CDU, signaling the shifting allegiances and growing influence of environmental politics in some parts of the state.
Despite the CDU’s urban advances, the SPD’s resilience in key industrial cities revealed a continued split in political loyalties: the CDU dominates rural communities, while the SPD remains a force in many urban, working-class areas. Düsseldorf, the state capital, stayed under CDU control, and Bochum remained an SPD stronghold. This urban-rural divide has long characterized North Rhine-Westphalia’s political map, but Sunday’s results suggest the lines may be blurring, with voters more willing than ever to cross traditional party boundaries.
Perhaps the most closely watched aspect of the election was the performance of the far-right AfD. The party, which has surged in national polls and recently secured a historic 20.8% vote share in February’s general election—making it Germany’s second-largest party—reached mayoral runoffs in three municipalities: Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen, and Hagen. This was the first time in the state’s history that AfD candidates advanced to second rounds in mayoral races, a milestone that alarmed many observers. Yet, in each contest, AfD candidates were defeated by large margins, losing to opponents from the CDU and SPD.
The mainstream parties’ ability to contain the AfD’s advances in North Rhine-Westphalia’s cities was seen by analysts as a crucial test ahead of upcoming federal elections. The results suggest that, while the AfD has made inroads in some areas, Germany’s established parties remain effective at holding the line in urban centers—at least for now. The elections serve as a bellwether, with the CDU and SPD battling for control of cities and the far-right’s momentum checked, if not entirely halted.
But the AfD’s challenges extend far beyond the ballot box. In Berlin, the party faces the prospect of being evicted from its central headquarters, a blow that illustrates the societal and institutional resistance it continues to face—even as its popularity grows among some segments of the electorate. On September 26, 2025, the Berlin Regional Court ordered the AfD to vacate its party headquarters between September and December 2026, following a lawsuit brought by the building’s owner. The dispute arose after a controversial post-election barbecue party in February 2025, when the AfD, celebrating its strong national showing, projected its logo onto the building’s exterior. The event drew a crowd of counter-protesters, prompting a significant police presence and paralyzing the neighborhood.
The building’s owner argued that the AfD had violated contractual terms by displaying its logo and creating a disturbance that harmed other tenants. The lease, signed in 2022 and originally valid until the end of 2027, was formally terminated by the owner in March 2025. The AfD refused to vacate, leading to the legal battle and the court’s eventual ruling. According to reports, analysts predict the AfD will struggle to secure a new headquarters in Berlin due to widespread public opposition—a sentiment that has only intensified in recent years.
Public resistance to the AfD is rooted in the party’s controversial positions and recent official designations. In May 2025, Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution designated the AfD as a "confirmed right-wing extremist movement." While this designation was later suspended pending a legal challenge from the party, it underscored the gravity of official concerns about the AfD’s agenda. The party has been widely condemned for advocating the expulsion of immigrants, seeking to strip them of rights, and for rhetoric that critics argue glorifies Germany’s Nazi past.
Despite these setbacks, the AfD’s electoral performance remains a source of anxiety for Germany’s mainstream parties. Its near-breakthroughs in North Rhine-Westphalia’s mayoral races and its status as the leading party in national approval ratings reflect a broader trend of political polarization and discontent. At the same time, the party’s inability to convert popularity into concrete political power in major cities—and its ongoing struggles with public acceptance—highlight the limits of its appeal and the resilience of Germany’s postwar democratic consensus.
For many voters, the CDU’s victories in places like Dortmund and Bielefeld are seen as a sign that the center-right is regaining momentum after years of SPD dominance. For others, the SPD’s ability to hold onto key industrial cities, and the Greens’ breakthrough in Münster, suggest that the political landscape remains fluid and unpredictable. As Germany heads toward federal elections, the lessons of North Rhine-Westphalia’s local contests are likely to resonate far beyond the state’s borders.
In the end, Sunday’s elections and the ongoing drama surrounding the AfD’s Berlin headquarters reveal a nation at a crossroads—grappling with the rise of populism, the endurance of mainstream parties, and the ever-present challenge of defending democratic values against extremism. The political battles playing out in North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin may well shape the future of German politics for years to come.
