Oberhausen's mayor Thomas Feistl resigns because he can no longer endure the climate in his local council.
Is the debate culture in local parliaments really that poisoned?
Research that produced surprising results.
District
- District Administrator Andrea Jochner-Weiss is not every day so openly: “We no longer have any respect for one another.
You can also see that in the district council. ”The culture of debate in the district's highest body has changed since the last elections at the latest, she reports.
"The way people treat each other is partly underground."
There were always fierce debates about the matter.
And that is also needed in a democratic decision-making process, she says.
There have always been personal animosities as well.
But what happens in part in the district assembly, “that frustrates me sometimes.
You lose your enthusiasm for political work, you doubt yourself. "
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For example, she thinks with horror of the hour-long dispute in the district council over the subject of "air purifiers" last summer. “Five votes and three procedural proposals - everyone loses the overview.” She already had the feeling that the way the district councilors deal with each other, but also with her and the administration, is getting worse from year to year.
The reason is not that the parties in the district council are perhaps paying more attention these days to making a name for themselves, that sometimes it is less about the matter and more about their own presentation.
“You can see that in the votes, that there is seldom a partisan vote, but factual.” Worse, many district councils increasingly have a problem with “accepting that a democratically elected majority has voted democratically - even if you have a different opinion yourself is".
She could not say whether that will change: "Maybe we have to come to terms with the fact that it is the way it is."
Ostenrieder: "Permanently in panic mode, everything is a scandal and a catastrophe"
Peter Ostenrieder, CSU district councilor and mayor of Peiting, agrees with her in large parts: "The local debate has recently become much more heated." This is also due to the corona pandemic. "We all have nerves, we are annoyed and frustrated." That is understandable, but it also increases aggression. In addition, the debate has accelerated immensely in the digital age. “There used to be the meeting. Then the report was in the newspaper. Then someone wrote a letter to the editor: “There were days in between. Days in which one obtained information, formed an opinion, maybe asked questions. Today on Facebook, there will be comments immediately. This speed also leads to an immense pressure of expectation: "Everything has to happen immediately, everything is permanently in panic mode,everything is a scandal and a catastrophe. ”If the pressure that is built up in the network is not immediately given in, then“ one is adapted relatively quickly ”.
This also applies to the district councils.
Especially those who are new to the committee would approach their work with exactly this expectation - everything has to happen immediately and immediately.
"The fact that the administration needs time to set processes in motion due to its structure and tasks is met with incomprehension."
The mood in the Peitingen municipal council is different: “Of course, it is also human, but in the end all colleagues work together in the interests of the community.” Ostenrieder compares his first year and a half as mayor with walking barefoot: “First it hurts, then you get calluses where you need it. "
What can be done to strengthen the cooperation in the committees of the district and some municipal councils again?
"You can laugh now, but I think because of Corona the after-work beer is missing after the meeting.
Earlier after the meeting you got to know your local council colleagues better, understood that they also wanted to stand up for their community. "
Bader: "With every little scrap the big leg is unpacked"
Rottenbuch's mayor Markus Bader, SPD parliamentary group leader in the district council, only knows conditions in the local council, such as in Seeshaupt or Oberhausen, from the newspaper. “Here in Rottenbuch, we have a great relationship with each other in the council,” he reports. The secret of harmony is intensive preparatory work in the committees. “The experts sit there and work together to find the optimal solution. There is controversial discussion. But when the matter comes from the committee to the council and is to be decided, I have never seen the committee reject it. Because then she has her hands and feet, "he says.
When in doubt, he sometimes backs away, even if he disagrees, reveals Bader. “There are definitely strategic reasons for this. If word gets around that the council is attacking each other with a hard line, then I will have the wrong candidates on the lists for the next election. Because those who rely on consensus waved them off when asked if they wanted to run. "
He sees in the district council where that could lead. "There one follows the general trend that particular interests of individuals or small groups are repeatedly overemphasized," says Bader. The compromise as the core of democratic negotiation is "wrongly viewed badly". Another problem is that after the last local election, the number of parties and groups represented in the district council increased sharply. "Everyone wants to make a name for themselves, everyone has to say something, even if everything has already been said." Many want to represent their voters, but would forget that they were elected to represent the interests of all district citizens.
In addition, there would be completely new framework conditions: “The district no longer has the money to fulfill all wishes.
That creates stress.
With every little scrap, the big club is unpacked, and instead of the matter, the big picture is the focus. ”But hardly anyone can find the patience to really take the time to develop solutions to big problems like climate change on.
The quick victory, the quick decision dominate everything.
