83 instead of 51 Greens now sit on the committees in the district of Starnberg. But it was not quite enough for the district office and mayor's offices. The region is a reflection of Bavaria.
District –18 instead of ten seats in the district council, eight instead of four in the Gautingen municipal council and six instead of three in the Starnberg city council - the examples show that the Greens have clearly gained influence in the local elections. The party has received mandates in all municipalities in the district. Except in Inning - but there, with four seats, it was already the second strongest force (the CSU has five). The overall balance: 83 instead of the previous 51 Greens are now on the communal committees.
Bernd Pfitzner, one of the district spokesmen, is pleased about this increase of more than 60 percent. “The trust in green politics is there. People agree with us, ”he says. The successes are due to "good council work" and "conscientious politics". The cliché of the "green spinner" has long been overcome. "Anyone who knows green councilors knows that they have reasonable views," says Pfitzner. The upswing is also noticeable in the number of members. According to the district spokesman about a year and a half ago there were around 200, now there are more than 300.
The Greens celebrate great success across the board - but it seldom reaches the top. The party provides only one district administrator in the Free State, in the Miltenberg district, the northwestern tip of Bavaria. The second so far, Wolfgang Rzehak from Miesbach, was voted out. Green mayors can only be found in Heimenkirch near Lindau and Neufahrn near Freising. Katrin Habenschaden did not make it into the runoff in Munich.
Two candidates for mayor narrowly missed the jump
In the Starnberg district, two representatives missed the jump into the town hall very narrowly: Thomas Zimmermann in Seefeld was 161 votes short, Hans Wilhelm Knape in Gauting after a counting error only 108. "There is a bit of melancholy," said Knape, commenting on the lost runoff vote against Mayor Dr . Brigitte Kössinger. Although he sees a "significant shift in power" and "a more colorful council", he is worried. He could also miss the post of second mayor. Knape's calculation: If the CSU, Kössinger and UBG vote against him, another candidate is only four votes short. "So far, the mayor has driven the policy of not supporting anyone as a proxy who has campaigned against her. But in the end, it also sent positive signals, ”says Knape, referring to Kössinger's announcement that he is looking for common ways with her challenger. He emphasizes: "As a second mayor, you have a different role in public than a normal municipal council."
With around 15 percent far from an election victory was Kerstin Taubner-Benicke, who had run in Starnberg. She explains this with a “polarization. Many who would have actually chosen me chose Patrick Janik to prevent another term of office for Eva John. ”The 22 percent that the Greens collected in the city council election would speak for this thesis. District spokeswoman Täubner-Benicke also points out the "corona effect". "Many people are not ready for something new at the moment, they are resorting to state power these days, so to speak." Party colleague Pfitzner from Tutzing sees it the same way: "One or the other election would have been different two months ago," he says. Pfitzner admits that the district administrator's post, which Stefan Frey (CSU) secured with almost 62 percent in a duel with Martina Neubauer, was one way or the other.
The virus-related crisis is currently a priority, emphasizes Täubner-Benicke. She also sees the situation as an opportunity to put an old demand back on the table: to broadcast city council meetings online and live. "Transparency is very important now."
"Time will continue to play for us"
Nationwide, the CSU led by Prime Minister Markus Söder declares the Greens to be the big losers - and the Greens themselves to be the big winners. At the county level, the latter admit their disappointment at the missed mayor's offices. In some places Pfitzner even sees "rather lost years for climate and environmental protection" - "if you see how the CSU is pushing commercial areas at the local level". But Pfitzner is convinced: "Time will continue to play for us." And colleague Täubner-Benicke added: "The others are now dependent on us."
But also in the long run? Prof. Ursula Münch, head of the Academy for Political Education, doubts that. It justifies the upward trend of the Greens with the setting of topics in public, that is, with the great attention to climate and environmental protection. “If the interests of the population turn away from this topic, this also affects the popularity ratings because the electorate is only partly made up of convinced supporters. Those who are convinced do not reorient themselves, but so do many voters, ”says Münch. Even if she doesn't call him that literally, the scientist also observed a corona effect: "It also shows that the Greens are still not perceived as a new People's Party."
50 greens come to the video gathering
The Greens met in virtual space for the district assembly after the election. According to district spokesman Bernd Pfitzner, the video conference was attended by around 50 members. So chaos inevitable? No, says Pfitzner: "Everyone was very disciplined and only switched on their microphones when it was their turn." The Greens organized requests to speak via a parallel chat. "It worked well for the first time," says Pfitzner. He suspects that many members attended "who cannot come to a normal district assembly because, for example, they have to take care of children".
The Greens also had a guest from the big political arena: Katharina Schulze, parliamentary group leader in the state parliament and grew up in Herrsching. District speaker Kerstin Täubner-Benicke was also taken with the evening. "We will try other formats to enable our members to get involved," she says. But Pfitzner is also clear: “We cannot do everything virtually - for example, a delegate election. We have not yet found the means of choice for this. ”
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Overview: The Corona location in the district of Starnberg
