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Frankfurt's still mayor Peter Feldmann (SPD)
Photo: Frank Rumpenhorst / dpa
Frankfurt's controversial Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann (SPD) did not meet a deadline to resign and thus did not accept his deselection.
The deadline expired on Friday night, as the head of the office of the Frankfurt am Main city council confirmed to the AFP news agency.
No message was received from the mayor to the head of the city council, she explained.
On July 14, the city council voted the 63-year-old out of office with a large majority at its meeting.
Feldmann then had a week to accept this decision.
He could have prevented a deselection procedure against himself in the fall.
Since this did not happen, Frankfurt's citizens will now vote in a referendum on Feldmann's political future on November 6th.
For the result to count, at least 30 percent of those entitled to vote must participate in the vote.
This hurdle is considered high.
Withdrawal offered at the end of January
After the vote last week in Frankfurt's Römer, Feldmann declared that he did not want to accept this decision.
Feldmann had offered his resignation on January 31, 2023 in July.
However, his own coalition of Greens, SPD, FDP and Volt, as well as large parts of the opposition, had demanded an immediate resignation.
The SPD politician has been the subject of heated debate for months.
The starting point was the investigation by the Frankfurt public prosecutor's office into allegations of corruption.
This was followed by allegations of sexist statements on a flight to the final of the Bundesliga soccer club Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League and because of his behavior, which was perceived as presumptuous, during the subsequent Eintracht victory fire.
Feldmann apologized for both.
In March, the public prosecutor's office brought charges against the mayor in connection with allegations of fraud and excessive salaries at Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO).
Feldmann's partner at the time and later wife is said to have received too much money and a company car as the head of a German-Turkish daycare center.
The indictment accuses Feldmann that this employment relationship was closed from 2014 due to his position as mayor.
In the 2018 election campaign, the Frankfurt AWO is said to have supported Feldmann by raising donations.
In return, he had tacitly agreed with the person in charge of the district association at the time that the interests of the AWO Frankfurt would be »benevolently« taken into account when he carried out his duties.
The proceedings against Feldmann's former wife, from whom he is now separated, and against those responsible for AWO have been separated.
The SPD politician has to answer to the court for corruption allegations from October 18th.
The district court in Frankfurt am Main set six hearing dates until the end of November.
col/AFP/dpa
