Berlin Green MP reaps criticism for Palmer tweet: "First AfD mayor"
Created: 10/24/2022, 5:12 p.m
By: Stefanie Fischhaber
The re-election of Tübingen's Mayor Boris Palmer triggered mixed reactions.
© Bernd Weißbrod/ dpa
Boris Palmer was re-elected mayor of Tübingen.
The Greens caused mixed feelings.
Green politician Franco compared Palmer to the AfD.
Tübingen/ Berlin - On Sunday (October 23) Boris Palmer was elected mayor of Tübingen for the third time.
Unlike in recent years, however, as an independent candidate and not for the Greens.
However, his re-election was not welcomed by all party members.
The Berlin Greens MP Vasili Franco sharply criticized the newly elected mayor on Twitter.
Palmer remains Tübingen OB: Green politician makes AfD comparison
Boirs Palmer polarized with the Greens.
Due to quarrels and allegations of racism, Palmer's party membership in the Greens will be suspended until the end of 2023. Not all party members were therefore enthusiastic about his re-election in Tübingen.
The Berlin Greens domestic politician Vasili Franco wrote on Twitter on Monday: “With Boris Palmer, Germany now has its first AfD mayor.
Sad!"
Franco received harsh criticism for his AfD comparison, including from his own ranks.
The Green member of the Bundestag Konstantin von Notz wrote: "What bullshit, dear Vasili!
My goodness.” Greens leader Omid Nouripour also distanced himself from Franco.
"That's totally wrong in this matter," the
daily mirror
quoted him as saying .
Criticism for AfD comparison: Berliner deletes tweet about Palmer
The tweet has since been deleted.
Instead, Franco wrote: "It's 2022 and racism is still not an exclusion criterion." He did not want to further fuel the debate and would not comment publicly on the subject, Franco told the German Press Agency.
Cem Özdemir's tweet shows that Palmer's election victory is rated differently within the party: "You can see it like this: Over 70 percent vote green in one way or another in Tübingen.
Congratulations to the winner of the election, Boris Palmer,” congratulated the man from Stuttgart on Sunday.
Mixed reactions to Palmer's re-election: Congratulations to Laschet
Palmer's election was also received mixed by other parties.
"Thanks for nothing Tübingen.
When such unbearable narcissism becomes a model for success, it is toxic for the political culture," wrote Isabel Cademartori, a member of the SPD Bundestag.
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“Winning an election as an independent candidate without support from your party deserves respect and recognition.
Congratulations to Boris Palmer and to the student city of Tübingen that, with a turnout of 62 percent, they don't let themselves be told who they have to vote for," said former CDU leader Armin Laschet in the discussion.
Boris Palmer's re-election is polarizing
In an interview with the German Press Agency, he also showed how argumentative the 50-year-old is.
"A democracy in which there is no dispute is not one," he told the dpa, citing a saying by the late former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt (SPD).
On the evening of the election, he polarized with a statement to a journalist in the SWR interview.
(sf with dpa)
