Feldmann voted out: parties launch campaign against Frankfurt mayor hessenschau.de

On November 6, Frankfurt decides whether Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann (SPD) should be voted out of office. An alliance of five parties wants to mobilize voters with a joint campaign.

Of
Danijel Majic

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It was a campaign launch without pomp and euphoria. That must be the case when five parties form an alliance of convenience that they say they would have preferred to avoid. Especially when it’s not about mobilizing votes for your own party, but for voting out a mayor.

On Monday afternoon, representatives of the Frankfurt magistrate coalition of SPD, Greens, FDP and Volt as well as the opposition CDU presented the campaign to vote out the controversial Frankfurt Mayor Peter Feldmann (SPD) at a press conference in the Evangelical Academy. With 12,000 posters and 250,000 leaflets, among other things, the five-party alliance wants to persuade voters to vote for the early end of Feldmann’s term of office on November 6th.

Impartiality as a message

“Deselecting Mayor Feldmann – a new start for Frankfurt” is a message that will be displayed to the people of Frankfurt from street lamps and billboards in the coming weeks. The words are highlighted with the colors of the parties carrying the campaign: black (CDU), yellow (FDP), green (Greens), purple (Volt) and red (SPD).

The second poster message is a bit more enigmatic, but in black and white: “For a cross, let’s forget all the colors.” In both variants, the core message remains the same: Feldmann’s deselection is a non-partisan matter.

“Let the opportunity for insight slip by”

It was an “unusual constellation, due to an unusual situation,” said Julia Frank, spokeswoman for the district executive of the Greens. Since Feldmann “repeatedly broke his word”, the city councilors “saw no other way” than to initiate the deselection procedure and the upcoming referendum.

“The mayor missed the opportunity to gain insight,” said Uwe Becker, chairman of the Frankfurt CDU. Feldman is now “a disgrace and shame for the city at the same time”. Becker also called on clubs and associations in the city to promote participation in the citizens’ initiative. “The mayor has lost sight of the well-being of the city,” said Becker. Citizens can now also apply for the necessary documents for a postal vote.

fight for quorum

The biggest challenge for the campaign is probably to achieve the necessary quorum for a vote out. Because on November 6, a simple majority of the votes cast is not enough. Rather, this majority – if it comes about – must also make up at least one third of Frankfurt’s eligible voters. In other words, a good 150,000 Frankfurters would have to vote “yes”, i.e. for deselection.

“30 percent is high, but I think it’s feasible if we all stand together,” said Sebastian Papke from the FDP with confidence. A campaign on social media should also contribute to this.

Difficult weeks for the SPD

The upcoming weeks would be anything but easy for his party, emphasized the chairman of the Frankfurt SPD, Mike Josef. “The responsibility for the fact that it has come to this lies with the mayor.”

Josef recalled that Feldmann had initially announced in a well-received press conference in July that he would accept “early retirement for special reasons” or that the city council would vote him out in January 2023 – only to have the alternative of “early retirement” drop again a few days later allow. At the same time, Josef appealed to everyone involved to remain “tough on the matter, but fair in personal dealings”.

AWO affair and Eintracht embarrassments

Peter Feldmann was initially criticized at the end of 2019 in the course of the affair surrounding the district associations of Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO) in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden. Among other things, it became known that his partner at the time had been employed by the AWO in 2015 for an unusual salary as a daycare manager.

Later, allegations were added that AWO employees in the 2018 mayoral election campaign were said to have solicited donations for him, for which he is said to have undertaken in return to “benevolently consider” the concerns of the AWO. Due to these allegations, Peter Feldmann has to answer before the Frankfurt district court from October 18th. The charge is taking advantage. After the indictment was admitted, Feldmann’s own party, the SPD, had finally withdrawn its confidence.

There were also irritating appearances and sexist comments by Feldmann about the celebrations after Frankfurt Eintracht’s Europa League victory. “This city deserves better,” commented Leonard Kramer from Volt on Monday of the mayor’s ongoing affairs.

Feldmann: Rather collect for the Tafel

Feldmann himself initially reacted with demonstrative composure on Monday. The mayor doesn’t seem to want to set up his own campaign to stay in office: “The people of Frankfurt don’t need any decision-making aids,” it said in a succinct written statement. “That’s why I call on my supporters: Don’t collect for me, collect for the Tafel. People can’t get enough of posters.”

Feldmann’s office then sent out another statement that afternoon. In this, the mayor expresses concern that the next six weeks could be marked by “dirty campaigning” – ie an election campaign marked by personal attacks. It was said that he committed himself to complying with a five-point code of conduct. These include not using “inappropriate verbal attacks and defamation” and respecting the privacy of political opponents.