Perceptible disenchantment with citizen participation around the Kongresshaus

Created: 04/28/2022, 14:26

By: Josef Hornsteiner

There is no rush: The number of people interested in the public participation process is very manageable.

© Brunnenmayr

So far, only a few have been involved in the citizen participation around the congress center in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Where does the frustration come from?

Garmisch-Partenkirchen

– Nobody is really interested in what will become of the congress center in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

The rush to the public participation process "GaPa 2030" leaves a lot to be desired - to put it mildly.

Michael Gerber, Managing Director of GaPa-Tourism GmbH, gave a presentation on the current situation in the market town council.

The municipal councils had different views as to why the response was so weak despite all efforts.

Now good advice is expensive to get more people excited about the topic again.

Anton Hofer wanted to know exactly.

The municipal council (Garmisch+Partenkirchen together) probed several times.

“How many have already taken part in total?” Michael Gerber did the math.

"So 100 to 150" if he includes all events.

A modest number compared to the population of Garmisch-Partenkirchen with almost 29,000 inhabitants.

Gerber knows that the long-running topic is hotly and emotionally discussed.

This was clearly evident from the few who had attended previous information events such as those at the Tannenhütte or in the Kongresshaus.

After all, it is about the future of the house for citizens, clubs, culture and congresses.

An "open-ended process," emphasized Gerber.

He still has the hope that this participatory process will soften the fronts that have arisen in the discussion about the Kongresshaus for more than 20 years now.

It's also not a "make a wish" concert.

Submitted proposals would be fact-checked by experts and checked for feasibility.

The citizens just say they have already made their decision.

Lilian Edenhofer (Free Voters) looking at the 2019 referendum

But public interest seems to be diminishing.

No wonder, said local councilor Lilian Edenhofer (free voters): "The citizens say they have already decided." Namely in the 2019 referendum, in which a clear majority of over 78 percent spoke out in favor of renovation and partial new construction.

According to Edenhofer, the locals would think: “How many more times should we vote on this?” But Gerber replied that the situation was different back then.

There was just no participation process that sharpens the opinion.

Because of the low response, the managing director also criticizes the municipal councils.

Only a quarter of the committee was present at the Tannenhütte, for example.

There was no announcement on any of the faction or party websites.

He would like councils to get more involved and motivate their voters and members to get involved in the process.

After all, as a representative of the people you are still a citizen of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Many local councilors are deliberately holding back in the debate

But many of the municipal councils are deliberately holding back in this debate, including Mayor Elisabeth Koch (CSU).

She is fully behind the process.

However, she does not want to become politically active "so as not to influence opinions".

What she finds terrible, however, are the tones that are sometimes struck by members of the municipal council.

Gerber is said to have been accused of lying at the meeting in the congress center.

"That is not possible."

Daniel Schimmer (Freie Wahler) asked himself whether the participation process is "the wrong format that simply doesn't appeal to citizens"?

Gerber countered that this is just one format of many that are currently running.

Among other things, there is the homepage “mitgestalten.gapa2030.com”, on which citizens can submit suggestions and have them evaluated.

Gerber rather suspects that the disenchantment of the citizens "that some are tired of it, maybe also because of the political discourse".

This will come to an end for the time being on July 2, when the final information event in the participation process will take place.