A new district administrator, self-confident Greens, badly plucked Social Democrats and the question of who will become the deputy district administrator. Two women squint at this post.
After the election is before the election: On May 11th, the newly elected Würzburg district council meets for its constituent meeting. 70 district councilors also elect the deputies of the district administrator. All factions want to have a say. Above all the Greens, which emerge stronger from the local elections and with 14 seats after the CSU (27) now represent the second strongest faction.
“Karen Heussner deserves it.”
Felix von Zobel, top candidate of the UWG-FW–
With the new district administrator Thomas Eberth (CSU), it is not the Greens that come first, but the SPD. Christine Haupt-Kreutzer, the party’s top candidate in the local elections and deputy district administrator since 2014, should continue to do so. “Because she has the experience,” says Eberth. The Greens are angry that the SPD of all things, which lost over 378,000 votes and thus seven seats in the election for the district council on March 15, is Eberth’s first choice. “After this election result, the SPD is not entitled to the first deputy,” said Green Party district chairwoman Jessica Hecht, who will be a member of the district council in the future and is represented on her party’s parliamentary board.
SPD promotes Christine Haupt-Kreutzer
It is about Karen Heussner, who lost to Thomas Eberth in the runoff. So far she was the third deputy of the district administrator and now wants to rise. Heussner, it is their way, at least holds out, covered. But it makes it clear that Eberth’s wish ignores the will of voters. And she expressly emphasizes: “Of course I will take on the office of Deputy District Administrator.”
“Christine Haupt-Kreutzer has the experience.”
Thomas Eberth (CSU), district administrator from May 1–
So it boils down to a fight candidate. The SPD stated in a press release to Haupt-Kreutzer: “The SPD parliamentary group recommends Christine Haupt-Kreutzer for the office of the first deputy of the district administrator and promotes all democratic forces of the district council.” The group leader Stefan Wolfshörndl and the district chairman Volkmar Halbleib announced. However, exploratory talks were still ongoing to find a consensus solution. “There are maximum demands and opportunities for a joint solution,” says the press release. For the SPD, however, the election of the deputy district councilors does not mean a stipulation for an exclusive political cooperation with individual groups, but remains a choice of personality for the district council.
Do free voters continue to support the Greens?
And then there is the group of the Independent Voter Community and Free Voters (UWG-FW), which has improved from ten to eleven seats. “According to the election results, we would like to continue to have the second deputy post,” says their top candidate Felix von Zobel. The 27-year-old, who spoke out clearly for Karen Heußner in the run-off election, also sees this in the first place in the appointment of the district representatives. “She deserved it,” he says. Group chairman Hans Fiederling is a little more reserved. The position of the UWG-FW is to determine the order of the deputies as it was six years ago after the election result.
In 2014, CSU parliamentary group leader Manfred Ländner wanted to push through the now deceased Elisabeth Schäfer as deputy district administrator, but failed because of the majority in the district council. With the exception of the CSU, all other parliamentary groups voted in favor of main Kreutzer – and thus also against Ländner’s claim that the strongest parliamentary group in the district council should also represent the district administrator.
Who will be the third deputy?
Eberth underlines that he is not concerned with the ranking of the parliamentary groups when appointing substitutes. “Then the CSU would have to provide the first deputy,” he says, understanding the arguments of the Greens. One last word doesn’t seem to have been spoken yet. The new CSU parliamentary group meets for the first time this Monday and discusses this question. It is certainly also about the third deputy whom Eberth would like to give to a CSU district councilor from the southern district. He could imagine Martina Schmidt from Aub or Rosa Behon from Ochsenfurt. But Björn Jungbauer, Mayor in Kirchheim, is also suitable for this. But this denies that. As it is said from CSU circles, Jungbauer may be the group leader and thus successor to Manfred Ländner.
So it remains exciting. Because the UWG-FW also makes demands. Felix von Zobel wants to continue studying and maybe replace Ernst Joßberger as second deputy in two or three years. However, the district council decides whether everything will work out that way. And it meets on May 11th.
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