The question of who will be the next mayor of Bamberg may not arise two and a half years before the local elections. But it can be asked and – since the Prime Minister presented his new cabinet – it has by no means become less interesting. Since then, even insiders have been waving things off: Bamberg’s future town hall boss? No idea.
In conservative circles, Melanie Huml was long considered a natural mayor candidate and was, if at all, given the caveat: Wouldn’t such an office at the local level actually be too mundane for someone who has been a member of the state government since 2007? Huml was just 32 years old when she became a member of the Beckstein cabinet, a star in the CSU sky.
Even recently, some people would have expressed concerns about whether someone like her would even want to take on such a municipal office. With 16 years in office, she was at least the longest-serving female cabinet member. As a 48-year-old, you are normally allowed to formulate demands. And look up.
Well, Markus Söder saw it completely differently, Melanie Huml is now just a simple MP. And Bamberg’s CSU is faced with a dilemma: Should one who the CSU chairman has just rudely rotated out of the government in the middle of his career (he probably has his reasons) be put on the local shield? Does the base like that? And what about the electorate?
The SPD could continue with questions like these. The incumbent Mayor Andreas Starke is 67 and has accepted two punishment orders against him, one for violating official secrets and the other for breach of trust. Even if he might be able to do that now given his age, someone like that certainly won’t compete anymore. Or?
That is also open. Some people think Starke is just kicking because of these punishment orders again. Because it is still popular in Bamberg. And wants to show it to everyone.
Mind game: A CSU candidate who was coldly rejected in the cabinet is running in Bamberg against an incumbent who, according to popular interpretation, can be said to have a criminal record. It wouldn’t be the Opportunity for the Greens?
They have long since appointed town hall bosses in large cities, and even several in Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia. In Bavaria: none. Could Bamberg become the city where this changes? With the second mayor, Jonas Glüsenkamp, we at least have a possible candidate without a blatant career turnaround and a double criminal conviction.
So you can make a prediction: Bavaria’s Greens will pay more attention to the university town of Bamberg in 2026.