Mayor election in Tübingen: triumph or end for Palmer?

Rarely does a mayoral election in a medium-sized city get as much attention as the one in Tübingen today. This is mainly due to the controversial incumbent Palmer. For him, the following applies: success or retreat.

He is probably the best-known local politician from the Greens – and yet he is currently not a “real” Green: Boris Palmer is currently letting his party membership rest. And because a process of exclusion is underway against him, the previous incumbent ran again as an independent candidate in the mayoral elections in Tübingen.

Two candidates

Many in the Greens were bothered by his comments, which they considered inappropriate to racist, especially on social media. He didn’t even bother standing in the party’s primary election, and so the mayor, Ulrike Baumgärtner, was nominated as a Greens candidate.

This led to the oddity that there are two Greens with a chance of being in the town hall. The third promising candidate is Sofie Geisel from the SPD, who is also supported by the FDP. She is currently Managing Director at the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce. Three other candidates are not given much chance.

Moderate campaign

The election campaign was not as dirty as might have been feared. The two candidates each wanted to counter the often polarizing Palmer with an appreciative approach.

The incumbent himself also took a calmer tone and even appeared remorseful: When asked about his slip-ups on Facebook at an SWR election podium, he admitted that there had been “stupidity and unnecessary things”. He’s just impulsive.

Even if the SPD candidate did not bring the nationwide prominence that some had hoped for from a candidate from “outside” (but with a Tübingen past), Geisel has recently caught up in popularity in the city and is a candidate with become serious opportunities. The outcome is considered open, at least between the three best-known candidates.

retreat in case of defeat

But one thing is already certain: If Palmer is not ahead after the election, he wants to withdraw from politics. At the age of 50 he would be a rare young retiree – possibly an indication that he is very sure of his cause. Should a second ballot become necessary, if no one got an absolute majority of the votes in the first ballot, then Palmer would only run again if he got the most votes.

Especially in times of crisis, a mayor should have a clear majority behind him, Palmer said in support of his announcement. He would also want to refrain from public statements in the future in the event of a defeat.

It is doubtful whether he would succeed. Both Palmer and many in the party should now see each other as an impertinence.

And then Corona

In this election, too, the people in Tübingen can form an opinion with the “Candidate-O-Maten”. The state center for political education in Baden-Württemberg initially withdrew the online tool after criticism from Palmer, who was not satisfied with individual questions – and then revised it. There are now 29 statements on local politics in Tübingen that voters can use as a guide, from construction projects and trade taxes to corona tests, environmental, transport and financial issues.

Ironically, in the final spurt of the election campaign, Palmer was infected with Corona for the first time a good week before the election date. It is unclear whether this will have an impact. A possible second ballot would be scheduled for November 13th.