Voters in the eastern German town of Gorlitz have rejected a far-right candidate for mayor, after a campaign that drew attention, and condemnation, from the film industry within and outside Germany.
Sebastian Wippel, an ex-policeman and candidate for the far-right anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany , lost out to the 51-year-old Romanian immigrant Octavian Ursu, who was reelected mayor of the picturesque historic town near the Polish border. On Sunday's run-off election, Ursu, who stood for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union party, received just over 55 percent of the vote. Wippel received just under 45 percent.
The election was closely watched in part because Gorlitz has become a favorite shooting location for international film productions. The town, nicknamed Gorliwood, played the backdrop for such features as Wes Anderson's