The Junge Union Frankfurt has started an online petition for the resignation of Peter Feldmann (SPD). A video on the net causes another scandal.

Frankfurt – “Sexist shit”: With these words, Ursula auf der Heide, the former parliamentary group leader of the Greens in the Römer, comments on a video that appeared on social media at the weekend and Frankfurt’s Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann (SPD) in a plane on the outward flight to European Cup final after Seville shows. Over the on-board microphone, he tells the 200 Eintracht fans on the plane that the ground staff and flight attendants have “hormonally put him out of action”. “It’s unbearable,” commented another Facebook user on the statement. “How long do we Frankfurters have to continue to be ashamed of ourselves and powerless to see how a power-hungry narcissist behaves disrespectfully towards the office and our city?”

When asked by this newspaper, the mayor says that he is “infinitely sorry” for his statement. That was a stupid saying that I took back on the spot. It wasn’t right, with no ifs or buts. And I promise it never will occurs again.”

Frankfurt: Mayor Feldmann is under more and more pressure

Meanwhile, the CDU and Junge Union (JU) are increasing the pressure on the mayor, against whom the public prosecutor’s office brought charges on suspicion of corruption at the end of March. While the CDU district chairman Uwe Becker wrote in a press release on Saturday: “Enough of waiting, it’s time to vote out.” JU district chairman Leopold Born started an online petition (https://tinyurl.com/yc3svf2u), die calls for Feldmann’s resignation.

“The mayor can no longer sit out the situation. Behavior is unworthy of a mayor,” Born died. In his view, the prosecutor’s indictment should have been immediately followed by his resignation. The “unworthy, self-absorbed appearance of our city when our Eintracht heroes return and the clawing of the trophy” would have shown: “It’s time to finally draw real conclusions,” said Born. The petition had already found 2,500 supporters on Sunday evening.

Feldmann initially caused some embarrassment at the reception of the Frankfurt European Cup winners when he took the trophy out of the hand of Eintracht captain Sebastian Rode and coach Oliver Glasner and ran in the direction of the Kaisersaal. That surprised Rode too. He told the Bild newspaper: “I didn’t quite understand it. It’s great that he invited us, but it might have been better if he had taken a step back.”

Feldmann later apologized on social media (“Big Sorry”). At that moment he was “more of a Eintracht fan than mayor”. In his speech to the invited guests in the Römer, however, he showed little expertise when he mispronounced the names of several players.

Only the mayor was allowed on the balcony

An instruction from Feldmann, according to which only he, as a representative of the city, was allowed to enter the balcony of the town hall, caused anger and irritation at the celebration. That was an affront to Mayor Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg, City Councilor Hilime Arslaner (both Green) and Sports Director Mike Josef (SPD). “An attempt was also made to prohibit me from greeting the players,” Arslaner confirmed the instruction from the OB office on social networks.

In addition, there were apparently massive problems with the implementation of the directive from the OB office. According to information from the Hessischer Rundfunk, neither the sports director of Eintracht, Markus Krösche, nor the chairman of the supervisory board, Philipp Holzer, were allowed on the Roman balcony. Speaking to HR, the head of the main office responsible for organizing, Tarkan Akman, admitted: “We have heard that the security personnel have refused entry to some people with whom we would have liked to celebrate on the balcony.”

For the CDU in Frankfurt, the measure is now finally full. “From week to week, Peter Feldmann is becoming more and more of a burden for our city,” says Uwe Becker. The Roman coalition should no longer refuse to vote out the mayor as requested by the CDU. The Greens, SPD, FDP and Volt had previously refused to be voted out – also because the formal hurdles for this are very high. However, all four parties are calling on Feldmann to resign because of the charges brought against him in the AWO scandal, at least if the charges are admitted. Incidentally, the Mayor himself is currently at the World Economic Forum in Davos. (Julia Lorenz and Georg Leppert)

Comment: There is no excuse for sexism

A colleague wrote on Twitter at the weekend: “What would seriously interest me: How does Peter Feldmann imagine his everyday life as mayor as soon as the indictment is admitted? In the dock in the morning, an interview in the Römer in the afternoon and in the evening for the big reception in the Paulskirche?” My answer: “Yes, that’s exactly how @OBPeterFeldmann imagines it.”

If you still believe on Thursday evening that the embarrassment at the reception of Eintracht in the Römer can no longer be topped, we have known since Saturday: Yes, it works. Since then, a nine-second video has gone viral showing the mayor on the plane to Seville. In a short speech, he speaks of flight attendants who “put him out of action hormonally at the beginning”. This is, to put it bluntly, sexist, chauvinistic – and outrageous. There is no excuse for that either.

What else has to happen for the Roman coalition of SPD, Greens, FDP and Volt to finally submit a motion to vote out? Because by himself he will not resign. The Lord Mayor’s self-view differs from the foreign view that many Frankfurters now have of him. In the most recent main committee meeting, the coalition missed the opportunity – a motion to be voted out that the CDU had tabled was rejected. But that was before the week full of embarrassment and especially before the sexism attack.

The coalition must stop the mayor – perhaps also to protect him from himself. And the opposition should go along with it. Sending a unanimous vote to the city council and especially to Peter Feldmann would be a clear sign that his days as the Sun King are over. Because even if he was directly elected, he is not exempt from parliamentary control and assessment. Nobody wants to experience everyday life as a mayor after the indictment has been admitted, as described at the beginning. (By Simone Wagenhaus)