Minute 165 of the debate in the Bayreuth city council is agenda item 10 and the question of whether cars will only be allowed to occupy one lane on certain city streets in the future. Since minute 39, the discussants have been discussing this exclusively, things are getting heated, so now the mayor gives the floor to city councilor Georg Kämpf.
The city councilor – pink sweater, black shirt collar – has a serious expression. And then explains, with guiding sincerity: “Thank you very much, Mayor, the main reason I got in touch is because I have the impression that I’m the only one who hasn’t said anything yet.”
Big hello in the House, it’s actually rare to hear something so disarming in parliament-like bodies. When you watch the recorded live stream, you can certainly understand the private pressure that the quiet city councilor is apparently exposed to at the moment. Before Kämpf’s statement, his colleagues discussed a supposed local detail – the said road narrowing – in every detail, removing all party discipline. Parliament is played at a thin level in city councils? Anyone who is of this opinion will have to learn something better when they look at the debate from Bayreuth.
The stupid thing is: you won’t be able to do that for a long time. In the summer, the state parliament paved the way for city council debates not only to be broadcast live, but also to be archived online without any legal gray area. But before this comes into force at the turn of the year, the Bayreuth city council is pulling out.
It’s hard to imagine: With agenda item 11, i.e. directly after the exemplary debate, the council decided to go digital. The meetings in Bayreuth have been broadcast since 2017, but this will end at the end of December. And this despite the fact that the councilors have now all agreed to be filmed – and even the direction and microphone system are now working to some extent.
The reason? Isn’t it an embarrassing slip-up like in Ingolstadt: A key city politician was once heard mumbling “Mei, that’s a bunch of idiots” into the stupidly open microphone.
No, in Bayreuth the council would simply have liked more response for the money invested in technology. It’s about less than 40,000 euros a year, an investment in the household per mille range. Should a transparent city debate culture be worth it to the capital of Upper Franconia? Might be. Only then will everyone on the internet be able to see in the future when someone speaks up just to have said something else.