As of: March 7, 2024, 2:24 p.m
By: Jörg Domke
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Michael Kümpfbeck (r.) and Andreas Stumptner (l.) from the citizens' initiative “Burgerfeld becomes Bürgerfeld” have, to a certain extent, involuntarily become the focus of national media.
They comment on the current developments in Markt Schwaben to the local newspaper - and also on the announced resignation of Mayor Michael Stolze.
© Stephan Görlich Photography
On the current situation in Markt Schwaben before the important council meeting on March 14th, an interview with the “heads” of the citizens’ initiative from Burgerfeld.
Markt Schwaben -
With the announced resignation of Mayor Michael Stolze last week, the debate about a new asylum seekers' home at Ziegelstadel in Markt Schwaben has reached a further stage of development.
In the meantime, national media have also become aware of the market town and the current dispute over asylum accommodation.
The protagonists also had direct contact with television, radio and other print media (including the one with large letters).
Michael Kümpfbeck and Andreas Stumptner from the citizens' initiative “Burgerfeld becomes Bürgerfeld” were also targeted.
What particularly bothers them is that their BI is now often pushed into the right corner, especially on social media.
The EZ also spoke about this with Kümpfbeck (46) and Stumptner (51).
How did you find out about Michael Stolz's announced resignation last week and what was your first reaction?
Michael Kümpfbeck:
We found out about this through your report on Merkur.de and were very surprised.
We very much regret the mayor's move.
This was definitely not good news for the concerns of our citizens' initiative; I see it as primarily disadvantageous.
Michael Stolze has been an important partner for us since December, with whom we have had a very good, regular and fair exchange so far and hopefully will continue to do so.
From the outside, your contact with the town hall boss actually seemed quite relaxed recently.
Andreas Stumptner:
After the meeting in the theater hall in December, in which he was unfortunately only present due to illness, and after the on-site meeting at the beginning of January with some local councilors, the district administrator and the mayor, we sat down with him several times for discussions in the town hall.
As far as we can tell, Mr. Stolze always kept us as informed as possible about the next steps, and we did the same for him.
Of course, he did not provide us with any details about discussions with decision-makers in the district office, the government of Upper Bavaria or the landlord.
But we knew that he was trying to work on possible solution scenarios in the case of the planned asylum accommodation.
However, in the conversation shortly before the last local council meeting, we sensed for the first time that a solution would not be possible through discussions.
Most recently, the local council determined that your application was inadmissible.
The mayor then informed you, also publicly, that this was not the end of your request.
How did that resonate with you?
Kümpfbeck:
Already on February 12th, on the day of the advisory board meeting, Mr. Stolze, together with Ms. Idek (note: the new managing director in administration), explained the position of the legal supervision to us and made it clear that there was no room for this in the upcoming local council meeting there is a decision other than rejection.
However, he also immediately assured us that, in his view, this decision would not mean that the request would fail.
A statement that he thankfully repeated almost word for word at the local council meeting and which of course speaks to our hearts.
In a democratic process, around 1,900 signatures - more than twice as many as we needed to submit - cannot be ignored.
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So they were and are in a lively exchange.
Actually a good basis, right?
Stumptner:
Absolutely.
The transparency that the mayor had promised since the discussions began in December was also present in the end.
For the sake of all Markt Schwabeners, we would have liked this much earlier, ideally a year ago, when discussions about the Atron site began.
Then some of the developments of the last few weeks might have been avoided.
Were there also discussions at district level?
Stumptner:
We were in close contact with the district administrator right from the start.
He came to a few appointments here in Markt Schwaben, most recently at the beginning of February.
Dialogue with everyone involved was and continues to be important to us.
We therefore held many discussions, for example with the parliamentary groups of the local council, with the Green regulars' table or with the “Side by Side” association.
What was the atmosphere like at “Side by Side”?
Stumptner:
The atmosphere was good and constructive.
Despite all the differences that certainly exist, we have also identified similarities.
For example, it is difficult for both of us to imagine how the integration of refugees can be achieved on the planned scale.
That's why we didn't understand some of the association's actions after our meeting.
Why?
Stumptner:
The group came with “Refugees Welcome” sweaters and promoted colorful diversity, for humanity and against exclusion.
We can sign all of this 100 percent.
We just don't want citizens to be excluded from such important decisions.
Compromise proposal at Thursday's meeting
There are now statements, particularly on social media, that seem to push you into a certain corner.
What position does the BI take on the issue of refugees?
Kümpfbeck:
You see, I work at Amadeus IT in Erding with colleagues from over 50 nations.
I know how enriching people from other cultures are.
This fundamentally distinguishes us from the AfD corner you mentioned.
And that's why we in the citizens' initiative strictly separated ourselves from the AfD and right-wing ideas from the start.
From our point of view, successful integration of refugees can only be achieved with citizens and neighbors and not against them.
Smaller and decentralized forms of accommodation are preferable to mass accommodation here.
A location with up to 120 refugees creates a distance due to its sheer size.
You won't find anyone in the citizens' initiative who has anything against refugees.
But we want to have a sensible concept before we welcome you to Markt Schwaben.
A lot of things went wrong because of the pressure from the district and district.
What should have gone differently or better in the past few weeks and months?
Kümpfbeck:
I think the whole town was completely surprised that the district on the one hand and Markt Schwaben on the other hand were clearly lagging behind in terms of accommodation rates.
Without specifying a specific location, citizens should have been prepared for the situation in the course of 2023, for example via Mr. Stolze's “Weekly Journal”.
And what else?
Kümpfbeck
: On the other hand, we still do not understand why a decision that may be legally permissible but is in any case politically flawed - here we refer to the district administrator's statements - is not reversed.
At this and other locations, it is important to take the population along and convince them with concrete integration concepts.
“Being pushed into the wrong corner”
Now some online are even going so far as to say that they are responsible for the mayor's resignation, pushed into a scapegoat role, so to speak.
Stumptner:
Indeed, unfortunately there is hardly any differentiation at this point.
The topic, the debate itself, certainly played a role.
But the sharpness came from other sides, which I'm not mentioning here because we don't want to add fuel to the fire, but rather want to have a peaceful discussion.
Unfortunately, most of those who make rude comments are online anonymously and are too cowardly to at least confess their opinion.
Are there any examples?
Stumptner:
Last week my hat string actually burst and I reacted to such a statement towards us on Facebook for the first time.
Of course, this person who wanted to blame us for the resignation also didn't want to give his name despite being asked to do so.
Did you “kick out” the mayor?
Stumptner:
Certainly not.
And if I followed Mr. Stolze's statements correctly, he did not just justify his request for resignation on the issue of asylum accommodation.
The attacks to which the mayor was obviously subject never came from us.
And we condemn this and hatred on the internet in general in the strongest possible terms.
You achieve absolutely nothing politically this way, and it's abysmal on a human level anyway.
From the outset, we have tried to keep the debate objective and to create a reasonable level of discussion in order to find solutions in partnership with those responsible that are viable for everyone.
And it is precisely for this reason that we have completely stopped using social media.
Always good cooperation with the mayor
The CSU, FDP and Free Voters have now presented a compromise proposal for the area right on their doorstep, and the EZ has already reported on it in detail.
It will be up for debate in the market town council on March 14th.
What is your position on this?
Kümpfbeck:
As you know, there is ongoing urgent proceedings regarding the local council's resolution against the citizens' initiative.
In order not to jeopardize the expedited procedure, we cannot yet take a position on this matter.
However, we find it extremely positive that there is now, for the first time, a transparent and public debate with a very well-formulated proposal.
The proposal also sheds light on the role of higher-level authorities, something that has not yet been clearly stated.
What we can say, however, is that we have submitted to the court through our lawyer our wish not to make a judicial decision before the local council meeting on March 14th.
Then all the factual resolutions and exact wording will be available, which will hopefully be legally compliant.
You spoke to the government.
Isn't it the government president's turn now?
Kümpfbeck:
In our view, the decision for the Ziegelstadel location by the Bavarian accommodation authorities and their supervisory authorities, including the government of Upper Bavaria, is the cause of the current situation.
I can't imagine that these effects were intentional.
We are curious to see what conclusions will be reached regarding the current discussions in Markt Schwaben.
Is there finally an accommodation or will uncompromising politics continue to be made against communities and citizens?
Do you continue to hide behind the traffic light politics in Berlin, even though you hold the decisions in your own hands?
The next few weeks will show.
Stumptner:
The fact that a mayor resigns, that local councilors insult each other in the worst possible way, that local society is divided, that television stations and BILD reporters walk through our residential area and watch for headlines, all of this is due to this ruthless policy.
We can only appeal to the district administrator and the district president to finally live up to their responsibility and heal what they have done.
In any case, we would like to celebrate together again with all Markt Schwabians at the upcoming festivals in the summer, regardless of their political opinion and stripe.
And we are also happy to work with refugees, as long as they are accommodated in appropriate accommodation in the local area on a reasonable scale.
Jörg Domke asked the questions
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