It was to be expected that Katrin Haben Schaden, who resigned as mayor on Wednesday, would receive favorable comments from the ranks of her party and her coalition partner. However, it is not necessarily the case that most of the opposition will adopt it warmly. The 46-year-old was visibly moved by this. Clutching a handkerchief, she thanked her “from the bottom of her heart for the kind and appreciative words.”
Green parliamentary group leader Dominik Krause, Haben Schaden’s long-time political companion and designated successor as second mayor, initially emphasized what a great loss her departure was – both for the parliamentary group and for the city’s politics as a whole. It is “hard to imagine life without it”; she has always advocated “for the most diverse facets of social life.” SPD parliamentary group leader Christian Müller paid tribute to the mobilization of many non-voters and wished them “a lucky hand” in their future work at Deutsche Bahn.
As a “voice from the opposition,” Tobias Ruff, parliamentary group spokesman for the ÖDP/Munich List, thanked you “for the style in which you appeared” – non-partisan, neutral, objective. The representative of the smaller eco-party in the city council confirmed the damage: “You have contributed to a pleasant climate.” CSU parliamentary group leader Manuel Pretzl said: “We have decidedly different opinions on some issues”; He explicitly mentioned the diesel driving ban. But he also praised: “The personal interaction and the management of the meeting were very pleasant.”
“What I always particularly valued was the decent way we treated each other”
Left parliamentary group leader Stefan Jagel also initially wanted to “expressly thank you for your non-partisanship”. But her withdrawal also caused a certain amount of reflection: “How do we have this or that discussion?” In the spirit of Haben Schaden, he advised “not to exaggerate so much in the debates” and “to return to more objectivity.” Last but not least, Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) praised his previous deputy as “incredibly hard-working and reliable”.
Katrin Haben Schaden then confessed about her time on the city council: “What I always particularly appreciated was the decent way we treated each other.” She spoke of “collegiality instead of confrontation” and called for “Democrats to join forces” in the future.
With reference to the state elections, she was relieved that populist and right-wing extremist forces did not find fertile ground in Munich: “I have never seen the hatred that some want to sow, as perhaps in the smallest parts of the last row, arise in this Space.”
By the “smallest parts of the last row” she meant the three AfD representatives who lead a mostly inconspicuous existence in the large meeting room of the town hall. When all the city councilors from the other parties stood up and applauded Katrin Haben Schaden farewell, the AfD trio remained seated and didn’t lift a finger.