Peter Feldmann announces his resignation in January 2023

by time news

Frankfurt’s Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann (SPD) announced in a personal statement on Tuesday morning that he wanted to end his term of office at the end of January 2023. In doing so, “I want to spare the city of Frankfurt an agonizing and expensive vote-out procedure,” said the mayor. He will thus bring his work to a proper conclusion after ten years in office. “I will hand over an orderly house.”

The leader of the Greens, Dimitrios Bakakis, was relieved by Feldmann’s announcement. The mayor had apparently come to an understanding. Bakakis announced that the Roman coalition of the Greens, SPD, FDP and Volt, as announced, would still submit the motion to vote out the SPD mayor for the next session of the city parliament on July 14. The deadline for this is Wednesday, July 6th. The necessary signatures from half of the city councilors are available. Whether the city parliament will then actually initiate the vote-out procedure on July 14 by resolution, the coalition will discuss this together with other parliamentary groups such as the CDU in the next few days. In all likelihood, however, the application will be deferred. After all, the costs of voting out are estimated at 1.6 million euros. The coalition had considered November 6 as the date for a possible deselection.

The SPD faction leader Ursula Busch said that she thinks it’s good that Feldmann has now submitted his resignation. This means that a procedure that is not pleasant for citizens, the announced deselection, can be averted.

“Liberation for the entire region”

“Today is a good day for Frankfurt,” said the FDP parliamentary group leader in the Römer, Yanki Pürsün. Feldmann’s announcement let the city breathe a sigh of relief. The fact that he is taking the initiative offers the chance for a regulated end to his term of office without having to go through a stormy process. Stefan Naas, FDP chairwoman Rhein-Main, speaks of a “liberation for the entire region if the mayor of Frankfurt actually resigns at the end of January as has now been announced. Everywhere people are asked about Feldmann as a person, who has long been a caricature only as mayor. And Naas went on to say: Of course it would have been better if Feldmann had resigned right now.

The parliamentary group leader Martin Huber spoke of a “sign of insight” for the fourth coalition partner, Volt. He would have welcomed it if Feldmann had accepted the motion for deselection planned for this month with a waiver of the referendum. At least no destructive vote-out campaign has been occupying city politics for months.

In a first reaction, the CDU parliamentary group leader in the Römer town hall, Nils Kößler, said: “Feldmann shows insight for the first time when he makes his office available early.” But his statement raises more questions than it answers. “In particular, we are not aware of any request from the mayor to end his term of office at the end of the month,” said Kößler. The deselection procedure must still be initiated in the city council. It was agreed with the coalition of SPD, Greens, FDP and Volt. “And we have no time to waste.”

The 63-year-old Social Democrat took office on July 1, 2012. In the spring of 2018 he was confirmed in office by the Frankfurters. In the spring of 2018, investigations by the public prosecutor against him in connection with the AWO affair became known. Feldmann’s wife is said to have received a salary in excess of the collective agreement as the head of an Awo day-care center “without any objective reason”, as it was said. In addition, the Arbeiterwohlfahrt (Awo) supported Feldmann in the 2018 election campaign by raising donations.

Inappropriate spell and foreign cup

At the end of May of this year, the Frankfurt Regional Court allowed charges to be brought on suspicion of corruption. The Frankfurt mayor will have to answer to the court in the next few months. Feldman denies the allegations. Despite louder and louder calls for his resignation, he remained undeterred and remained in office, but the pressure was increasing lately.

Most recently, the OB had triggered several shaking of the head. A video with a sexist saying by Feldmann appeared. In addition, the mayor caused irritation at the celebration of Eintracht Frankfurt’s European Cup victory in the Römer, among other things, when he took the trophy out of the hand of Eintracht captain Sebastian Rode and coach Oliver Glasner in order to advance towards the Kaisersaal, which many considered selfish and rated complacently.

Feldmann himself regretted his appearance at the party, and he also apologized for his saying on the plane. Meanwhile, the Bundesliga club let Feldmann know that the mayor was no longer welcome in the stadium.

The citizens should have voted him out

Since Feldmann is directly elected, the citizens should have voted him out of office if he did not give up office voluntarily. According to the Hessian Municipal Code, this would be the case if there was a majority of the valid votes for it. This majority would be at least 30 percent of those entitled to vote. The hurdle is generally considered to be high, especially in large cities with usually very low voter turnout in municipal elections.

The cost of voting out is estimated at 1.6 million euros. Feldmann, whose term of office normally does not end until 2024, not only saves the citizens a lot of organizational effort with a voluntary resignation, but also high costs.

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