The Greens in Unterhaching's municipal council have now faced violent headwinds.
Several of their remarks, actions and motions were harshly rejected at the meeting.
Unterhaching
- The ex-Green Christine Helming, who switched to the Free Voters in 2019, accuses the current Greens, and in particular their Vice Mayor Johanna Zapf, of “lack of understanding of democracy”. The reason: the reaction of the Greens to the decision not to allow hybrid meetings of the municipal council in Unterhaching. The online presence mix favored by the Greens and the CSU had been rejected at the June meeting of the municipal council (we reported), and Christine Helming found it “understandable and normal” that “some did not like it”.
But: “Not normal, but bad style” was the fact that the Green Vice-Mayor Johanna Zapf, in solidarity with the CSU parliamentary group leader Korbinian Rausch, subsequently, by means of a press release and a proclamation on the town hall square, “ridiculed a majority of this municipal council and turned it into a old-fashioned corner ”.
Christine Helming also quoted from the homepage of the Unterhachinger Greens, on which there is talk of the “sign against progress”.
"If you simply do not want to respect a majority decision and publicly denigrate the majority of the local council for it, that shows a lack of understanding of democracy," summarized Christine Helming.
Discussion about the babysitter issue
The Unterhachinger Greens did not want to let that sit on them. Armin Konetschny countered promptly: "A look at the minutes makes it easier to find the truth." The 14:13 vote of the June vote (because of a necessary three-thirds majority, the 14 yes votes of the Greens and CSU were not enough) did not testify to "a majority" . And as a practical example of a pro online session, he cited the Vice-Mayoress Johanna Zapf, who this time was absent from the local council “because she couldn't find a babysitter”.
An admission that, in turn, Unterhaching's mayor Wolfgang Panzer (SPD) was visibly angry: "According to the rules of procedure, we even pay the babysitter to be able to take part in municipal council meetings." Euros per year, at home.
Whereupon a council member of the Free Voters whispered annoyed into the room: "If Ms. Zapf knew that she couldn't make it with a baby, she shouldn't have run for office in the first place."
Controversial training offensive
Subsequently, the group leader of the Greens, Eva Karbaumer, submitted a comprehensive proposal in which the "start of a training offensive in Unterhaching's day-care centers" is called for. One must "support the educational staff in being able to counter the negative consequences of the corona pandemic". "Professional input" is required, and "everyday theories must be checked and the repertoire of action expanded," said Eva Karbaumer, who expects a further training offensive to bring "new vigor" to daycare staff.
Mayor Wolfgang Panzer then shook his head a little stunned: "I am dismayed and embarrassed, I feel like I was hit on the head with a hammer," said the town hall chief about the Green initiative. "We do everything for our employees, we train them constantly - even without a pandemic or such an application from the Greens."