The Frankfurt scandal mayor Peter Feldmann clings to his office. In the SPD, the frustration with the comrades is growing. And some have already given up.
On Wednesday, Frankfurt’s Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann (SPD) at least managed to apologize. Among other things, he addressed allegations in connection with a sexist statement about flight attendants. “Yes, I made mistakes,” said Feldmann, for which he was rightly criticized. But a resignation, as demanded by his own party, is out of the question for the SPD man.
In the SPD itself, people are obviously increasingly at a loss as to how to get Feldmann out of office. “We know our Peter,” quotes the “Faz” from party circles with a view to Feldmann’s announcement on Wednesday. The frustration is great.
In a “letter from the SPD party base”, from which the “Faz” quotes, the local club chairmen write: “Your behavior in the last few days, but also your handling of the allegations made, show us that you obviously understand the seriousness of the allegations and the failed to understand the gravity of the situation you are in. With this behavior you are not only causing immense damage to yourself, but also to the SPD.”
The refusal to resign immediately, as requested by the party executive, is “completely incomprehensible to us and further damages your reputation and unfortunately also that of the SPD”.
Meanwhile, at the top of the party, they no longer believe in resigning. “If Peter Feldmann wants to do something for the SPD, then he has to leave the party,” said Frankfurt SPD deputy chairman Kolja Müller. A suspension of party membership, as Feldmann himself suggested, is not found in the statutes.
The frustration is also great for party chairman Mike Josef. Social issues, which Feldmann says she would like to address, would no longer play a role due to the mayor’s behavior. Citizens have a right to the mayor taking care of their needs and not his. “So that the focus is on the people and the city, he cannot be the focus himself,” says Josef to the “Faz”. Feldmann is fighting an inner struggle with himself and has lost touch with reality. “A city cannot be managed like this,” he sharply criticized his party colleagues.
In order to get rid of Feldman after all, the Frankfurt SPD is now even ready for a vote-out procedure. For this, there must first be at least a two-thirds majority in the city council; then the citizens are questioned directly. If there is a majority for voting out, this must comprise at least 30 percent of those entitled to vote. For a local election, this is a high hurdle given the mostly low voter turnout.
