The chair of Hamburg’s lawyers’ pension fund has been ousted after members voted against his re-election over social media posts they said expressed positions close to those of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Jörn Weitzmann had been expected to be re-elected at the fund’s Monday general meeting, but a group of lawyers mobilised colleagues to attend and vote against him.
Of the members voting, 431 opposed Weitzmann’s re-election, 36 supported it and 18 abstained, Oliver Islam, a member of the pension fund, told IPE.
The chair of the pension fund requires a certain degree of neutrality, Islam said. In recent years, Weitzmann had shared right-wing views on X and LinkedIn and positions that could be associated with those of the AfD, added Islam, who co-organised the campaign to oust him.
On X, Weitzmann shared an op-ed published by Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) – The AfD’s strategic patience in the East has paid off – referring to the far-right party’s victory in regional elections in Saxony-Anhalt on 6 September.
On LinkedIn, he shared another NZZ op-ed headlined “Germany needs more realism regarding migration and the climate, but a power cartel is blocking a shift in policy”. On X, he also shared a video by right-wing media outlet NIUS titled “Germans have long been living in the bondage of conquest migration”.
In a statement to NIUS, Weitzmann said he refused to be stigmatised as a right-wing extremist and considered himself a conservative liberal.
Contacted by IPE, Weitzmann said he had outlined the facts on X.
On the social media platform, Weitzmann, who had chaired the pension fund for 21 years, stressed the importance of respecting and listening to different points of view and avoiding personal attacks.
“Conduct consistent with the rule of law also includes the principle of granting the opposing party the right to be heard,” he said in the post.
The dispute comes as Germany’s established political parties grapple with the advance of the AfD and protests against the party are being organised across the country.
