Now they can be seen everywhere: the candidates for the Bundestag and the candidates for the Chancellery in Berlin. On Sunday, exactly six weeks before the general election, many party supporters in the Munich district picked up paintbrushes and paste pots and put up election posters in streets and squares. The posting regulations in many municipalities specify this deadline. Some would have liked to start earlier. Because the voting decision is also made earlier and earlier. More citizens than ever want to use postal votes in the wake of the corona pandemic. The campaigners’ concern is that the tick will be ticked before the election campaign has started on the streets.
Many party strategists have long recognized that it is no longer enough to stare at election day as the day of decision. Because as soon as the postal voting documents are available, every eligible voter can use his or her democratic rights and cast his or her vote. In the weeks leading up to September 26th, every day is election day, so to speak, and every day the task is to convince people. Six weeks before the general election, when the starting shot for billposting is given in many municipalities, theoretically at least the ballot paper can already be in the mailbox. Because August 15th was also the deadline on which all electoral rolls in the republic had to be ready, which are the prerequisite for sending the election notification. The crucial phase of the election begins.
Thomas Mayer ensures that Florian Hahn becomes visible.
(Photo: private)
Manfred Riederle was concerned some time ago that the election campaign has not only changed due to the advent of the Internet. The FDP district council and city council in Unterschleißheim thought something should also change when it comes to billposting. He suggested that the billing ordinance should be amended and that the parties should be allowed to post their election advertisements earlier. He would have preferred to hang his yellow-magenta-colored FDP posters at the beginning of August. Eight weeks instead of six weeks for posting posters – that was his urgency request in the city council. “It is constitutionally required,” said Riederle, “that all parties are given the opportunity to advertise.” The first voting decisions could be made as early as August 20, when the municipalities send out the documents early. The posters then had no effect, said Riederle. But he did not get through with it. For the other parties in the city council, all of this was too short-term at the end of July – in a matter that is not only controversial in Unterschleißheim anyway. Many consider the posters on the side of the road, on trees and light poles to be annoying. The Greens have therefore decided in Unterschleißheim to only use the billboards allocated by the city.
The SPD team in Unterhaching has Korbinian Rüger and Olaf Scholz with them.
(Photo: private)
Werner Stockhausen in Unterschleißheim proved at the earliest possible point in time that this has nothing to do with a lack of combat readiness or even with comfort. He, too, was busy sticking his direct candidate Toni Hofreiter on the billboard at the assigned places on Sunday. “He sticks as hard as he can,” comment the party friends on Facebook. Stockhausen himself thinks that this is a bit exaggerated. He just does the job. He stands behind the renouncement of loose poster stands and annoying posters on trees. Election campaigns by no means mean plastering everything up. Unfortunately, a city council proposal failed to dispense with loose posters. At least the number of posters could be limited.
In Brunnthal, the CSU was also ready to go on Sunday with the posters with the likeness of Florian Hahn. Board member Thomas Mayer set off with a team. On time, but not too early: “We really paid attention,” says Mayer. The posting rules are taken very seriously. Otherwise trouble with the political opponent would be programmed. Nevertheless, the SPD in Unterhaching has already presented its direct candidate Korbinian Rüger on various poster stands in the past few weeks. Because apart from the six-week period, which also applies in Unterhaching, the SPD has used the opportunity to advertise political online events with Rüger, for example. That was possible, says SPD chairwoman Sabine Schmierl. This was announced in the town hall and the dates were then made known.
The SPD is currently helping the popularity of its top candidate Olaf Scholz to motivate party members to do the carnal work of billposting. Lubricl says the hope of a good result in September is good for everyone in the party. A poster team has been set up in Unterhaching to divide up the work. With 20 posters you’re out there. The poster stands that had already been placed – such as the very prominent ones on Rathausplatz – could be used on Sunday to stick the campaign posters with Scholz and direct candidate Rüger.