"Costs a lot of money, but is important": Mayor Reiter reveals plans for Munich for 2022 - and considerations for the Oktoberfest

Created: 01/02/2022, 7:11 PM

From: Sascha Karowski, Klaus Vick

Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) hopes that Corona will no longer be so heavily dominated in 2022.

© MARCUS SLEEP

In the big New Year's interview with our newspaper, Mayor Dieter Reiter (63) gives an outlook on 2022. It's about the Oktoberfest, surprisingly good figures from the combing, a largely car-free city center, the Munich climate plan or the renovation of the Gasteig.

The Social Democrat also comments on the Corona crisis and reveals why he would rather discuss things as banal as trash cans with citizens again.

Mr Reiter, we will save ourselves the initial question of whether 2022 will be a normal year.

Or do you have an answer to that?

I can only hope that it will be a halfway normal year.

But I don't trust myself to make a prognosis.

We have to adjust to the current situation.

For a long time now, my focus has not been on incidences, but on what it looks like in our clinics.

As long as the situation in the intensive care units is extremely tense, the all-clear cannot be given.

We have to find a way how we can come to terms with the Corona issue.

Lord Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD)

Are there not even the slightest signals for the all-clear?

Unfortunately not with regard to the Omikron variant.

The intensive care area is already busy at the moment.

I am in constant contact with the Munich clinic managers.

Emergency care must continue to function.

Citizens shouldn't have the feeling: man, if I feel bad, I might not get a place in the hospital.

The only component that can be influenced when occupying intensive care units is reducing the number of corona patients.

So we must do everything we can to reduce this number.

That can only be done through vaccination.

We are also facing greater challenges because the Covid patients in the intensive care units are now younger and usually have to be cared for over a longer period of time.

Munich's mayor rider at the Oktoberfest 2022: "Unvaccinated people would not have access"

It sounds almost irreverent, but we cannot spare you one question: Do you consider the Oktoberfest 2022 feasible under certain conditions?

For me, according to the current infectious standards, there can only be one 2G Oktoberfest.

Nothing else.

Unvaccinated people are not allowed.

We are currently thinking about possible access controls.

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every individual would have to be controlled.

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Ribbons are conceivable, which one receives before visiting the Oktoberfest on presentation of the vaccination certificate and identity card.

They would then have to be created when they are picked up so that they are not passed on without authorization.

In other words, is the city council working on such a plan?

Yes.

I have no concerns that we can organize a well-attended, yet safe Oktoberfest with a pragmatic concept.

On the other hand, for the sake of honesty you have to say that if the corona situation does not improve by May, there will probably be no Oktoberfest in 2022 either.

But we definitely want to be prepared in the hope that Oktoberfest can take place.

Reiter: "I'm very pleased that our Munich economy has proven its stability"

The last good news came from the combing department.

The trade tax will flow much better than expected in 2021.

In which projects do you want to invest?

First of all, I am very pleased that our Munich economy has proven its stability.

Nobody would have predicted that we would even achieve a record business tax revenue in 2021.

This is surprising because everyone expected that Corona will slow us down for much longer.

But we also have to pay off debts.

Has the treasurer already given you an explanation for the record result?

I think a look at the stock market data is enough.

BMW has the best sales year in history, and Siemens is also reporting very good results.

Both companies are based in Munich and have very good business development despite Corona.

For example, BMW recently sold an incredible number of electric cars.

"People in Munich must have the feeling: The city is there for me"

And what does the city want to do for the people of Munich?

First of all, we can reverse some restrictive measures on our own staff.

We will fill vacancies again.

That costs a lot of money, but it is important to me, and ultimately it is also a signal to the citizens.

Because at some point I would like to see that people no longer have to wait long for a service from the authority.

And info telephones can be reliably reached.

The people of Munich have to feel that the city is there for me.

Which projects are important to you?

With the renovation of the Gasteig, we have a mammoth task ahead of us.

And of course various local transport projects such as the U5 to Pasing and various tram routes are on the agenda.

The path to climate neutrality and the associated energy transition should transform the city into a major construction site in the coming years.

Not everyone in Munich will be happy about that.

That is the essence of politics.

When I build a bike path, some people are happy, others get upset.

You just have to do what you think is right.

After eight years as mayor, I have now moved away from the illusion that I can please everyone.

Reiter: "It makes sense to free city centers from car traffic as much as possible"

But the implementation of the Climate Plan 2035 is already a priority for you?

We spend 180 million euros a year on climate protection measures, that's a lot of money.

But it's not just about 2035. We have already built a milestone for 2025.

By then, 80 percent of the traffic in Munich should be climate neutral.

To do this, motorized individual traffic must of course be reduced.

I don't see that ideologically, because I don't fundamentally reject the car.

It's about the fact that I think it makes sense in metropolitan areas to free city centers from car traffic as much as possible.

So that people have more space and feel more comfortable.

Mayor Dieter Reiter in conversation with the Merkur editors Klaus Vick (center) and Sascha Karowski (right).

© Marcus sleep

A dispute has just broken out between the Free State and the city over the construction of a large event arena at the airport.

How does it go on here?

We are checking whether there is a need for a new hall in the Olympic Park.

But we wouldn't build them ourselves.

The only solution I see is an investor model - like at the airport.

Such a project would not be trivial anyway, if only for architectural reasons in the ensemble between the Olympic Park and BMW.

Is there even a need for a hall in Munich with 20,000 or more spectators?

We haven't had such a size in Munich so far, maybe at the airport in Freising.

I don't see any urgent need for action.

We will not do a greyhound race with Freising, but rather weigh up sensibly and then decide.

Munich: What will happen to the Gasteig?

What will happen to the Gasteig?

We are looking for an investor for the renovation.

Which, however, has to adhere to a cost cap of 450 million euros.

It is clear that if no one is found for this offer, the city will have to consider scaling back the requirements.

Or do you increase the cost cap?

I don't even want to put that in the room.

450 million euros is a lot of money.

From a purely visual point of view, the Gasteig does not give the impression of a dilapidated building.

In any case, it is relatively difficult to explain to the citizens that half a billion euros have to be put into this.

In our impression, the green-red town hall coalition has still not really come together atmospherically.

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(laughs).

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What?

Do you remember the grade you gave for the collaboration in the previous year?

I think two minus.

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right, we found that rated pretty well given the constant bumping behind the scenes.

So in terms of performance, I would stick with the two because we implemented a lot of what we set out to do in terms of content.

When it comes to behavior, I would say: satisfactory - with a slight upward trend.

Munich's mayor rider: We finally need a bit of normalcy again "

You personally are often accused of floating a little above things in moderating the conflicts.

Or is that your kind of pacification policy?

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I can live with this accusation.

But seriously: I try to find compromises when there are different opinions.

This is how we manage to achieve results in some difficult coalition rounds.

That is the most important thing for the citizens.

You don't always have to take the rocky road there to the outside world.

Finally: what is your personal wish for 2022?

I hope that we can all look forward to more relaxed times - and that Corona does not continue to dominate all private and public life.

That would be important for the well-being of the citizens.

To be honest: I would rather discuss with the citizens again why the garbage bins are not emptied more often than that I have to constantly talk about the latest Corona rules.

We finally need a bit of normalcy again or we have to find a way how we can come to terms with the Corona issue.

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