Aschheim's mayor speaks openly about burnout disease - return to town hall is delayed

Created: 01/14/2023, 06:50

By: Stefan Weinzierl

The business in the town hall should continue to be managed by the deputies.

(Iconic image) © Nico Bauer

His burnout illness still prevents Aschheim's mayor Thomas Glashauser from returning to the town hall.

He is now starting a course of therapy lasting several weeks, as he reports openly.

Aschheim – Mayor Thomas Glashauser will not return to the Aschheim town hall any time soon.

When asked by Merkur, the 47-year-old, who suffers from burnout syndrome, announced that he would start therapy in a day clinic at the end of January.

According to him, the treatment is completed after six weeks at the earliest, but can also last up to twelve weeks.

So far it has been said that the CSU politician, who made his illness public in September last year and has been on sick leave since then, will return to City Hall on January 31, 2023.

In the past few months, the second mayor, Robert Ertl (FW), managed official business with the support of the third mayor, Marion Seitz (Greens).

That should continue to be the case.

"The goal of therapy is..."

Glashauser reiterated his goal of returning to the executive chair at City Hall as soon as he recovers.

“I want to see through the election period, to continue until 2026.

I owe that to the voters who put their trust in me,” he says.

The prerequisite for him, however, is that he is physically and, above all, mentally fit enough to be able to meet the challenges of the mayor's office.

That is currently not the case.

"For me, the goal of the therapy is that I can then do the work in the town hall as well as before my illness."

According to Glashauser, the fact that he has only now been given a place in therapy in the day clinic also has to do with the fundamental difficulty of getting support quickly as a sufferer with burnout syndrome.

"I had to experience for myself how long it takes to get medical help," he says.

So he waited six weeks alone to get an appointment with a therapist.

"It didn't work out right away there either." He has only had a psychotherapist since mid-November, with whom he is regularly treated.

He also had similar experiences when looking for a therapy place in the day clinic.

"The clinics are completely overloaded - also due to the effects of Corona," he says.

"Don't be afraid to talk about my problems"

Glashauser therefore wants to work at the political level to improve medical care in this area as soon as he is well again and returns to the town hall.

"That's why I don't shy away from speaking publicly about my problems." He would like to give help to other people who are also affected by the fact that they can no longer successfully deal with the stress at work.

"It cannot be that people who open up to the outside world have to wait so long for help."

At the municipal council dinner, which took place in Aschheim on Thursday evening, Glashauser informed the municipal councilors about the current situation through the managing official in the town hall, Christian Schürer.

Glashauser now hopes that Deputy Mayor Ertl can continue to represent him as reliably as before.

Ertl can't make a final commitment yet, but wants to talk to his employer as soon as possible - and is in good spirits: "We'll find a solution."

The community is prepared for all eventualities

Even in the event that the second and third mayors are no longer able to represent Thomas Glashauser, the head of the town hall, the deputyship is regulated in the rules of procedure for the Aschheim municipal council, as the managing official in the town hall, Christian Schürer, assures.

Then the eldest member of the ward council, or ward councilors succeeding in age, could exercise all the statutory and regulatory powers of the First Mayor.

In addition, all deputies can transfer tasks to the town hall employees by means of instructions, emphasizes Schürer.

Incidentally, if a mayor is absent for an excessively long time due to illness, the municipality as the employer, or more precisely the municipal council, can intervene, explains Wilfried Schober, director of the Bavarian Municipal Council.

The municipal council can then send the mayor, who is an elected official, to the medical officer.

The latter checks whether the person concerned is permanently incapacitated.

If this is the case, the municipal council can decide to hold new elections.

This is regulated in the Municipal Code or the Municipal Electoral Officers Act.

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