Frankfurt’s Mayor: Does Feldmann have to go?

In an unusual referendum, the people of Frankfurt are voting today on the political future of their mayor. The hurdles for Peter Feldmann’s deselection are high.

The mayor of Frankfurt am Main has had difficult weeks. Since October, SPD politician Peter Feldmann has had to answer before the district court of the Main metropolis on charges of accepting an advantage. Today, voters in Germany’s fifth largest city are voting in a referendum on whether the 64-year-old can remain in office.

Feldmann is only considered deselected if 30 percent of those entitled to vote decide against him. With around 513,000 people entitled to vote, slightly more than 153,000 Frankfurters would have to answer the following question with yes:

The big unknown in this referendum is whether the parties calling for votes to be voted out can mobilize enough voters. A look at the past shows that this hurdle is very high: Only 30.2 percent of those eligible to vote took part in the runoff election and Feldmann’s re-election in 2018.

suspicion of accepting an advantage

Feldmann has been under massive pressure for weeks. In the middle of the hot phase of the fight for his political future, the trial against him on charges of corruption began. The OB is charged with suspected acceptance of an advantage. It’s about his close relationships with Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO) and the conclusion of his wife’s employment contract as head of an AWO day-care center. Feldmann denies all allegations.

He did not show up for the hearing on Monday. His lawyers submitted a certificate stating that he was not able to stand trial due to a “mental state of emergency”. It was announced on Tuesday that the 64-year-old had tested positive for Corona. The next day of the hearing is scheduled for November 9, and a verdict is expected in November.

Embarrassing appearances

The allegations of corruption against Feldmann are joined by a whole series of embarrassing missteps. For example, he gave a speech on a flight to Seville, Spain, for the final of the Bundesliga soccer club Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League in May – recorded on video that later went viral on social networks. Feldmann said that the flight attendants “put him out of action hormonally at first”. The outrage over the sexist statement was great.

At the subsequent reception of the European Cup winners from Eintracht Frankfurt in the Römer, Feldmann literally snatched the trophy out of the hands of the clearly irritated Eintracht captain Sebastian Rode and coach Oliver Glasner in order to present himself with it. He earned a lot of ridicule for this. In the later acceptance speech, he mispronounced the player’s name and then the coronation: Only he and the team were allowed to step in front of the cheering crowd waiting in front of the Römer’s balcony – club officials were not, Feldmann is said to have arranged for that beforehand. The Eintracht leadership then declared Feldmann an undesirable person in the stadium.

A statement read by his defense attorney recently caused new waves of indignation. To support his argument, Feldmann explained that he only married his wife because of an unplanned pregnancy and that he actually wanted an abortion of his six-year-old daughter. A day after this statement, the mayor publicly apologized to his young daughter on Facebook. He also apologized for other missteps.

And then there is the “Team Feldmann”

Almost all parties in Frankfurt city politics are calling for Feldmann’s resignation, including his SPD. A big city is trying to get rid of its mayor by means of a referendum.

But there are also citizens who support Feldmann: The “Team Feldmann” alliance is committed to keeping him in office. The Frankfurt lawyer Michael Marquardt will be there. He thinks the campaign against Feldmann is irrational and lacks political style, as he says Hessian radio communicated. There is a smear campaign against Feldmann. He referred to Feldmann’s “respectable socio-political achievements”, such as the rent control for the apartments at Nassauische Heimstätte, the annual ticket for schoolchildren and senior citizens, and the free day care center.

How the unusual procedure will end is unclear. Should Feldmann lose the citizens’ vote, he would no longer be in office by the end of November 11th. If he wins, he wants to stay until the end of his term in 2024.