Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) - Shortly before the election of a new mayor in Frankfurt, according to a survey, Uwe Becker (CDU) and Mike Josef (SPD) are almost evenly ahead. In a representative survey by the opinion research institute Insa for "Bild" published on Wednesday, the former mayor and city treasurer Becker came to 32.8 percent among those questioned who want to vote and who have named candidates. The head of planning, Josef, achieved 32.2 percent.
The Green Party candidate, Manuela Rottmann, is well behind with 18.9 percent. Yanki Pürsün from the FDP comes to 8.8 percent in the survey. At least 25 percent of those surveyed stated that they did not yet know who to vote for.
On Sunday (March 5th) a new mayor will be appointed in Frankfurt. A total of 20 candidates entered the race. If no one gets the required absolute majority in the first ballot, a run-off vote on March 26 will decide.
The survey also asked about the city's biggest problems. Accordingly, citizens are primarily concerned with the issue of housing (48.3 percent), followed by traffic (31.4 percent) and waste/cleanliness/noise (18.7 percent).
Eligible to vote are Germans and EU citizens who are at least 18 years old on the day of the vote and have had their main residence in Frankfurt for at least six weeks. That is currently around 512,000 people.
The city shouldn't actually vote until next year. But the previous Mayor Peter Feldmann had lost trust because of the affair about the Arbeiterwohlfahrt (Awo) and various slip-ups and was voted out in November 2022. Shortly thereafter, the SPD politician was fined for accepting advantages in the Awo affair. The verdict is not yet legally binding.
Since Feldmann's deselection, business has been managed by his deputy, Green Party politician Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg. The usual term of office for a Mayor in Frankfurt is six years.
