Alert concerning bureaucracy on Markus Lanz's show - Scholz fails to answer an SOS call.
Richard Arnold, mayor of Schwäbisch-Gmünd, and two other mayors from the SPD and former Green party sent a fiery letter to Olaf Scholz in the fall. However, the chancellor has yet to respond, not even with a simple "no reply".
Arnold lamented, "Three mayors wrote in October 2023." His colleagues included Matthias Klopfer from Esslingen and Boris Palmer from Tübingen. But they haven't received a response "to date, nada, nothing!"
Incredulously, Lanz asked, "Not even from a lower level?" Arnold replied disappointingly, "No, not even from the chancellery!"
The mayors pleaded for assistance in their joint letter: "We encounter how crippling the overall regulations in our country have become. And there's no sign of a reversal in trend!"
Instead, "more regulations and stricter rules are constantly being imposed on us, and we're expected to explain to citizens what no one really comprehends anymore!" They point to constant demands from immigration, data protection, and environmental protection.
A case from Schwäbisch-Gmünd exemplifies the situation: since 2022, each of the eleven water fountains must supply at least two liters daily due to a new hygiene regulation. Arnold expressed his frustration: "My Syrian employee runs around every day just to press the button. Every season, 4000 liters of water are consumed for the bureaucracy!"
In Esslingen, a swimming jetty had to be closed because of the requirement for two lifeguards, which weren't available. A frustrated swimmer complained, "Even during Hitler's time, this jetty was not shut down!"
In Lüchow-Dannenberg, a district administrator had to relocate bat habitats to a separate building for a daycare center, costing 180,000 euros. "Now the bats have their own house," she said.
In Zossen, Brandenburg, Mayor Wiebke Şahin-Schwarzweller expressed her resignation: "I can no longer hear the word 'de-bureaucratization.' The new VAT law now taxes cake sales in schools."
Mayor Oliver Schmidt-Gutzat from Heide shared his concerns: "Everyone wants less bureaucracy and we local authorities are at the end of the line. The state government constantly blames us for taking too long."
Despite this, Schmidt-Gutzat acknowledged the challenges: "If I make a mistake in a land-use planning procedure, it can be challenged and we have to start over." His city is currently undergoing much construction as the Northvolt battery factory will soon be built nearby, bringing a wave of new residents.
Mayor Arnold concluded, "Excessive bureaucracy is a considerable obstacle to the progress of the Federal Republic of Germany." The mayors continue to hope for a response from Berlin.
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Source: symclub.org
