"Tasty provocation": dispute between Württemberg and Baden continues to escalate
Created: 04/22/2022, 13:03
By: Nadja Pohr
The fronts between Baden and Württemberg have hardened before the ceremony on May 4th to mark the 70th anniversary of the state (symbolic image).
© Bernd Weissbrod/dpa
The "Baden in Europa" association published a critical subordinate clause in a resolution, which the state government regards as provocation and anti-Semitism.
Stuttgart - Baden-Württemberg is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.
A ceremony is planned for May 4th.
But the closer the festival gets, the more tense the relationship between the Baden and Württemberg parts becomes.
The people of Baden feel neglected.
The dispute between Baden and Württemberg was fueled by the lack of invitations to Baden state representatives.
For an event on April 27th to mark the 70th anniversary of Baden-Württemberg, the President of the State Parliament Muhterem Aras (Greens) invited only representatives from Württemberg and other federal states.
Professor Robert Mürb, honorary chairman of the state association "Baden in Europa", called this "outrageous".
The association has now passed a resolution that is causing renewed debate.
The state government speaks of "tasteless provocation" on the part of Baden
In its decision, the state association Baden in Europe assumes that the state government “thinks in a centralistic, Swabian way and refrains from the participation of civil society in the Baden part of the state.” In its argument, the association states that only Württemberg organizations were asked and mentions in one Subordinate clause the absence of Jewish communities and women's associations.
This formulation meets with a lack of understanding in politics in Baden-Württemberg.
The state association uses the pattern of right-wing populist rhetoric, criticizes Reinhold Weber, deputy director of the
State Center for Political Education.
"We rate the sarcastic half-sentence as misogynistic, racist and anti-Semitic." Michael Blume, the state government's anti-Semitism officer, is also outraged: "I think this formulation is a tasteless provocation to attract attention."
Landesvereinigung Baden feels misunderstood
However, Peter Koehler, Chairman of the Baden State Association, sees this as a misunderstanding.
The emphasis on Jewish communities and women's associations is only to be understood as an example.
You could just as well have named other associations that weren't invited either, he explains when asked by the
Stuttgarter Zeitung
.
Despite the controversial statements, the Baden in Europa resolution is having an effect: Baden Greens MPs joined the protest and wrote an “angry letter” to the President of the State Parliament, Aras.
The people of Baden will now also take part in the official ceremony.
