Tübingen Mayor Boris Palmer has resigned from the Greens. The state party announced this on Monday in Stuttgart. Palmer confirmed the exit to the German Press Agency. Palmer had previously stated that he wanted to take a “time out”. At the weekend there had been major discussions about Palmer’s controversial statements in Frankfurt am Main. Because Palmer had repeatedly caused a stir with his choice of words in recent years, his membership in the Greens was last suspended.
The most recent occasion: On Friday, on the sidelines of a migration conference in Frankfurt am Main, Palmer commented on the way he used the “N-word”. When confronted with shouts of “Nazis out,” Palmer told the crowd, “It’s nothing but the Star of David. It’s because I used a word that you guys frame everything else by. If you say the wrong word , you’re a Nazi. Think about it.” The so-called N-word describes a racist term for black people that was used in Germany in the past.
Palmer apologizes
In his personal statement on Monday, Palmer apologized to the people “I’ve let down” and stressed that as mayor he “never should have talked like that.” “I’m incredibly sorry” that he gave the impression that he was relativizing the Holocaust. It can’t go on like this. “I can no longer put up with the recurring storms of outrage from my family, my friends and supporters, the employees in the city administration, the municipal council and the city society as a whole.”
Palmer had been heavily criticized for his statements in Frankfurt. There was a lack of understanding not only among those involved in the city, but also among close colleagues. Lawyer Rezzo Schlauch turned away from Palmer, the Tübingen Greens city association, like the federal party, distanced themselves.
A spokeswoman for the Baden-Württemberg state party then announced on Monday evening: “Boris Palmer declared his resignation from the Bündnis 90/Die Grünen party today, Monday, May 1, 2023. His declaration of resignation was received by the Baden-Württemberg state association, his resignation applies immediately.”
