What's next for Frankfurt's mayor? Peter Feldmann has had to answer in court for corruption and accepting benefits since October. Next Sunday, citizens can decide whether he can remain in office. The hurdle for opting out is high.
The controversial mayor of Frankfurt am Main has had difficult weeks. Since October, the SPD politician Peter Feldmann has had to answer before the district court of the Main metropolis on charges of accepting an advantage. Next Sunday, voters in Frankfurt will vote in a referendum on whether the 64-year-old can remain in office. At least 30 percent of those eligible to vote must participate for the result to count. This hurdle is high.
In the middle of the hot phase of the fight for his political future, the trial against Feldmann began on charges of corruption. It will be decided on Sunday whether he will still be mayor for the planned verdict in November. In March, the public prosecutor brought charges against the mayor in connection with allegations of fraud and excessive salaries at the Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO). Feldmann's former partner and later wife is said to have received too much money and a company car as the head of a German-Turkish daycare center. The indictment accuses Feldmann that this employment relationship was closed from 2014 due to his position as mayor.
In the 2018 election campaign, the Frankfurt AWO is said to have supported Feldmann by raising donations. In return, he had tacitly agreed with the person in charge of the district association at the time that the interests of the AWO Frankfurt would be "benevolently" taken into account when he carried out his duties. The proceedings against Feldmann's wife, from whom he now lives separately, and against those responsible for AWO were separated. Feldmann has always denied the allegations. In a statement read out by his lawyer last week, he stated that he knew nothing about the details of his future wife's contract. He had no insight into their finances.
But even after the indictment, Feldmann himself caused plenty of further criticism with his public appearances. This was followed by allegations of sexist statements on a flight to Seville, Spain, for the final of the Bundesliga soccer club Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League in May and because of his behavior, which was perceived as presumptuous, at the Eintracht victory celebration that followed. In addition, in the testimony read by his lawyer in court, he testified that he only married his wife because of an unplanned pregnancy. He actually wanted an abortion of the now six-year-old daughter.
He has since apologized for this statement and for the two football-related incidents. Feldmann did not appear on Monday for the third day of the hearing because of a corona disease. He also announced that he was not able to stand trial due to a "mental state of emergency". Feldmann has little political support in Frankfurt. In view of the affairs and missteps, even his own coalition of the Greens, SPD, FDP and Volt opposed him in the summer. In June, a motion of no confidence tabled by the coalition was accepted by the city council, and in July the body voted it out with a large majority.
Feldmann allowed a one-week deadline to prevent the referendum to pass. In the meantime, the Frankfurt street lamps have been placarded with calls to participate in the referendum. The government factions campaign aggressively for the deselection. Her tenor: "For a cross, let's forget all the colors." If the decision goes against Feldmann, he would no longer be in office by the end of November 11th. If he wins the referendum, he wants to remain in office until the end of his term in 2024. An offer to his coalition from July to resign on January 31, 2023 has now been taken off the table.
