The Gigelberghalle in Biberach is secured like a fortress on Friday evening. They have set up hundreds of meters of barriers around the church-like building, and police officers check IDs at the entrance. And there are so many emergency vehicles and motorcycles on the Gigelberg that it could pass for an exhibition center for blue light vehicles.
A helicopter buzzes over the hill. Actually, the only thing missing is boats, an Interior Ministry employee noticed as Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann’s (Greens) limousine rolled onto the square. Or in the words of Biberach’s mayor Norbert Zeidler: “The Gigelberg is today the safest place in Baden-Württemberg.”
Five weeks ago, however, Biberach was not the safest place in the country. But a place where a demonstration escalated so much that the Greens had to cancel their traditional political Ash Wednesday. Tractors blocked the roads, stones were thrown, and several police officers were injured. Since then, Biberach has “symbolized a new level of undemocratic unculture,” says Mayor Zeidler as he steps onto the podium in the Gigelberghalle. And yes, that hurts. It will probably be a while before people here forget the pile of dung in front of the town hall. Or the guy waving around with a chainsaw.
That’s why the city is inviting you to a “political evening” on Friday. An event that is supposed to be about the very broad field of “political culture of debate”. In principle there would be nothing wrong with that, except that one briefly asks whether the large police presence in front of the door really makes a constructive contribution to the said culture of debate. Or whether the security authorities don’t want to counteract the impression that they underestimated the situation on Ash Wednesday. So now we want to “make a statement”, as it is often said on such occasions.
Today he regrets not going to Biberach that day
On the other hand, it is of course true that Biberach should not be repeated if possible, something that is often being talked about at the moment. Seen from this point of view, it can be seen as progress that the Prime Minister made it to the event hall this time. Things were different on Ash Wednesday, when Kretschmann’s company car turned around before he even reached Biberach. A prime minister who cannot speak at an event in his country – that is “a monstrous occurrence,” says Kretschmann. Finally, he let it be known that he now considers it a mistake not to have personally driven to Biberach that day. “It was only after a considerable delay” that he became aware of the significance of the event, he says. Otherwise he would have come to take a look despite the protests.
In any case, he’s here now and has brought with him a very fundamental speech, even by Kretschmann’s standards. It begins in 1548, when the second oldest simultaneous church in the country was inaugurated here in Biberach, a church that was used by both Catholics and Protestants. The two groups had a particular antipathy towards each other at the time. But from Kretschmann’s point of view, the Biberach people had already proven their ability to make peace because they did not resolve the conflict violently. Applied to the recent riots, his verdict is merciful: “It was an outlier.” Violence does not represent the spirit of this city.
In general, Kretschmann tries very hard to differentiate. He wants to distinguish between what he sees as the legitimate demands of the farmers and those who are bent on rioting. “There were people out and about who weren’t concerned with the farmers’ worries about the future. They were only concerned with inciting anger, raising emotions and silencing others.”
“Civil strife brings society together, uncivil strife drives it apart.”
Kretschmann emphasizes the value of non-violent protest, which is also successful. Finally, the government has either withdrawn or defused the vehicle tax and agricultural diesel measures complained of by farmers. The dispute itself is not the problem, but necessary. Then he comes to his core statement: “Civil strife brings society together, uncivil strife drives it apart.”
This evening in Biberach should not run the risk of driving society further apart. The streets remain free of tractors and dung heaps, and the police with the “anti-conflict team” vests appear largely unemployed. At the end, the people from Biberach are allowed to ask a few questions, to the Prime Minister, to the Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU), to the responsible police chief: The people in the room want to know how many investigations are underway and why the event was not canceled earlier.
Mayor Zeidler had already indicated that the Biberach people perhaps do not consider the culture of political debate to be the most pressing concern. The question he received most often was about potential traffic violations involving tractors. Because it can’t be that they don’t get parking tickets. At least the mayor has good news: There is video material that is now being evaluated. It’s quite possible that at least when it comes to traffic tickets, everything will be in order in the end.