Frankfurt Mayor Peter Feldmann resigns

Created: 07/05/2022 11:56 am

By: Alexander Gottschalk

Resigns: Frankfurt's Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann (SPD).

© Boris Roessler/dpa/archive image

Frankfurt Mayor Peter Feldmann has announced his resignation.

In January 2023 it should be over for him.

Frankfurt – Frankfurt's controversial mayor Peter Feldmann (SPD) resigns.

This was announced by his office on Tuesday morning (July 5).

"I declare that in January I am applying to complete my term at the end of the month," the mayor said in a statement.

He wanted to save the city of Frankfurt a "tormenting and expensive voting procedure - and take the opportunity to bring my official business to a proper conclusion after more than ten years."

The move is the result of a series of smaller and larger scandals, including the "cup theft" at Eintracht Frankfurt's victory celebration and the video of a sexist saying on an airplane.

Above all, however, are the allegations of corruption and the public prosecutor's investigations against the Frankfurt mayor.

Despite the massive public pressure, he had repeatedly rejected a resignation just a few weeks ago, as reported by fnp.de.

Frankfurt Mayor: Peter Feldmann retires early

Peter Feldmann's term of office would normally have lasted until 2024.

It has been clear since April that he will not run again for the office of Frankfurt's Lord Mayor.

Because it is now considered unacceptable for large parts of city politics, the Frankfurt city councilors recently forced a vote-out procedure, which could have been lengthy and expensive - and presumably would have damaged the reputation of the Main metropolis.

So now the Feldmann departure from - more or less - free pieces in January 2023. "This step was very difficult for me.

I love my job and wouldn't want to miss a single day of it," explained the outgoing mayor.

“I never wanted the office for its own sake, but to shape it.

To make the lives of Frankfurters better – especially those who are not in the limelight.”

Frankfurt: Mayor Feldmann wants to leave "paths of blame".

The mayor's statement was entitled "Clarity for Frankfurt".

In it, Feldmann also addressed the “responsible persons in the city and the people of Frankfurt” and called on them to leave “the well-trodden path of assigning blame and personalized accusations” and “again struggling to find the best path for our city in the center of the debate".

Frankfurt is "ready for a new start."

Feldmann has so far firmly rejected the allegations of the public prosecutor's office in the course of the AWO affair - most recently in an "interview" that he conducted with himself and sent to all city employees.

In mid-June, he emphasized that resigning would be a "flight from responsibility" and "tantamount to an admission of guilt".

The investigators accuse the mayor that the AWO collected donations for him during the election campaign, in return for which he gave benevolent consideration to the aid organization, which has been involved in many scandals in recent years.

(Alexander Gottschalk)