There are eleven metropolitan regions in Germany and one of them is particularly proud of itself: the Nuremberg metropolitan region. 23 rural districts and eleven independent cities came together in 2005 to end the Franconian small state. For many centuries, Franconia – unlike Wittelsbach’s south of Bavaria – was not a unified country, but a patchwork quilt of territorial and denominational rulers who sometimes worked with, but mostly against each other – and did not indulge each other. It stayed that way even when there were no more territorial rulers.
Seen in this way, 2005 was above all a big promise: From now on we will stick together and gather around Nuremberg. Because in a globalized business world a Chinese or American may have heard of Nuremberg, but less often of Rödental, Strullendorf or Treuchtlingen. “Together we will meet the challenges that the growing Europe demands of all of us”, it says on the website of the metropolitan region. Pretty cocky, because this metropolitan region is about to fail at its first real test.
The railway wants to build an ICE repair shop and has defined nine possible locations in and around Nuremberg. The modern regional princes in town halls and district offices initially thought that was great, after all, the railway wants to invest 400 million euros and create 450 new jobs. But because the population at the locations has been going on the barricades since then, the enthusiasm has given way to naked fear. And since the railway limited its search to three areas, the old Franconian myopia has broken out again. Because all three are in the surrounding area. If there has to be an ICE plant in Nuremberg, then also in the Nuremberg area, say the respective district administrators and mayors. Conversely, the Nuremberg local politicians are happy that they are rid of the trouble. Metropolitan area? Cohesion? Was there something?
But it is not only the metropolitan region that fails as a platform for such decision-making processes. What is missing everywhere in town halls and district offices is political courage. The courage to tell people that climate protection will not work with a traffic turnaround in favor of rail if everything is blocked at the same time that is necessary for it. And be it an ICE plant.