The dispute over the allocation of speaker posts at the city is coming to a head. At the weekend, SPD parliamentary group leader Anne Hübner sharply attacked the CSU on Twitter: “With their rabid, history-forgotten and uncollegial approach, they have achieved one thing in any case: no piece of paper fits between the two governing parties”. The SPD did not want to make an official statement on Monday, they are now waiting for the decision of the government of Upper Bavaria, it said. For the Greens, parliamentary group leader Florian Roth said it would be “exciting to see what new volte the government of Upper Bavaria will come up with or not”.
On Wednesday there are two speaker elections in the city council: Hanna Sammüller-Gradl (Greens) is to be chosen as district administration officer, Andreas Mickisch (SPD) as the new personnel officer. The planned election of the Greens parliamentary group leader, Anna Hanusch, as building officer fell through last week because the government of Upper Bavaria, as the responsible supervisory authority, is calling for a bid for the city’s top post.
One can only refrain from the obligation to advertise in exceptional cases, for example if a speaker is re-elected or a deputy takes over the office of a retiring boss, explained a spokesman. The principle of “selecting the best” applies. The CSU got the process rolling, massively doubting Hanusch’s formal qualifications and turning on the government. With regard to the other two elections, Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) said last week that he would leave them on the agenda, saying they were “legally compliant”.
However, the CSU had derived a paradigm shift from the negative vote by the government of Upper Bavaria on the Hanusch case – the obligation to advertise must then apply to all departments. On Friday, the CSU again asked the government of Upper Bavaria for legal information on how it would assess the upcoming elections of the candidates proposed by the Greens and the SPD.
The government announced on Monday that it had asked the city of Munich for a statement. “Since the statement of the state capital in particular must be taken into account in the further process, the government cannot yet provide any information on the time and content of an answer.” It was heard from City Hall circles that the government was expecting a decision towards the evening of this Tuesday – relatively shortly before the general assembly on Wednesday.
The incumbent is willing to stand again in the event of a vacancy
CSU faction leader Manuel Pretzl does not understand the excitement: There is now a new legal assessment, he said. So far, it has been assumed that it is not a legal, but a political decision as to whether there should be an invitation to tender or not. The CSU has never denied “that we acted differently”. Half of the speakers proposed by the CSU came into office in the past term of office without, the other half with a job advertisement. For example, there was a call for vacancies for the personnel and organization department. At the time, Alexander Dietrich prevailed in the process. The Greens criticized the procedure as a “farce” at the time, saying Dietrich had long been certain.
The personnel officer, who according to the will of the town hall coalition is now to be replaced by Andreas Mickisch (SPD), had sent a “personal declaration” to the city leaders and the parliamentary groups on Sunday, in which he called for an advertisement. In principle, he was ready to run for office again and would face a new bidding process “if this takes place under fair conditions and is not an illegal pseudo-bid”. He declined to comment officially on Monday. It is evidence of a “certain chutzpah” how Dietrich mixes a “pseudo-objectivity” as a speaker and “personal career interests,” commented Green Party leader Roth on the letter.