AOn Sunday, Frankfurt’s voters can use their votes to remove the head of the town hall, Peter Feldmann (SPD). Jörg König (CDU), as mayor of Linden near Gießen, must also expect a voting procedure. In his case, it is still unclear when exactly such an election could take place. Before that, the city councilors of the small town would have to initiate the deselection process. But that could happen quickly. Because König has turned all factions against him. From the Left to the AfD, they have withdrawn their trust from him. His own party, the CDU, is also calling for his resignation in the middle of his second term. But the king is sticking to his position.
Unlike Feldmann, the mayor, who was first elected to office in 2013, has not faced any allegations of corruption and does not have to answer in court. Rather, the city politicians accuse the lawyer of being weak in decision-making and inactive. For example, parents of kindergarten children have been waiting for the repayment of meal money from Corona times for months. König counters such accusations by pointing to what he sees as the thinning out of the job plan. During the budget deliberations, he called for 14 new jobs, but met with rejection. Personnel costs would have risen from about 6.3 million euros to a good 9.4 million. The city councilors approved only 4.5 additional positions. From König’s point of view, too little and a reason for sluggish administrative work. “When the best captain doesn’t have a crew on the ship, it becomes difficult,” he said in response to the demands for his resignation.
Talked to the conscience for a year
From Thomas Altenheimer’s point of view, however, the reference to the position plan misses the point. Yes, the administration is facing increasing requirements, for example with regard to tenders. Irrespective of this, König is simply overwhelmed with the management of the administration, says the chairman of the CDU parliamentary group. The Union is by far the largest group in the city parliament and, due to the lack of a coalition, operates with changing majorities.
Altenheimer illustrated his judgment with an anecdote, among other things. According to a Green initiative, parents should also be able to register their small children online for a daycare center. The information came from the administration that the corresponding statutes had to be changed for this purpose. But nothing further happened. As a result, the Greens formulated the amendment themselves – and waited again. At a meeting with a view to the pending examination of the application, the mayor pointed out the absence of two administrators, says Altenheimer. But König is a lawyer and could have checked the application himself immediately. For a year, the Union had clearly signaled to the mayor that he had to be more decisive – without success.
Against this background, the CDU parliamentary group leader is also suggesting that the mayor withdraw. For this purpose, König could refer to Paragraph 76a of the Hessian Municipal Code. According to this provision, the head of the town hall could apply for retirement with the information that he would no longer have the confidence required to continue to hold office. But König does not want to go down this path. Rather, he relies on mediation: After that, however, the factions should not be in the mood. The SPD has already reserved the right to vote out of office, and the Greens also want to deal with the topic at their next parliamentary group meeting.
Crisp deselection quorum
Such an approach is not easy for the CDU, says Altenheimer. However, he assumes that the necessary 19 votes will come together in the city parliament to introduce the application. Ultimately, 25 of the 37 city councilors would have to vote in favor of the application before they could address the issue to eligible voters. The CDU parliamentary group leader considers the quorum of 30 percent of those entitled to vote to be the greater hurdle. Accordingly, 3000 voters would have to vote for the deselection. Altenheimer: “The quorum is tight, but achievable.”
However, anyone who asks around in the small town will notice that a possible deselection has not yet been widely discussed. Altenheimer also admits this. The vast majority of reactions to the advance of the factions are positive, but their number is clear. As a result, the deficits in König’s administration should be presented more clearly, he says. In his own words, the mayor himself is “relaxed” in the face of a vote-out procedure.
