After the announcement of a sabbatical as Tübingen’s mayor, the Alternative Liste (AL) continues to support Boris Palmer. “Despite all the criticism, we stand by our mayor and his climate policy,” said Bruno Gebhart, head of the voters’ association, the “Spiegel” (Saturday). The AL is organized as an association and, together with the Tübingen city association of the Greens, forms a joint faction in the Tübingen municipal council.
Gebhart said it was certainly the right decision by Palmer to seek psychological help and take a one-month break. Because the mayor has repeatedly lost control of himself in controversial situations. Palmer is himself a member of the AL. He confirmed to the “Spiegel” that he did not want to leave either.
Palmer triggered heated debates at the end of April with an appearance at a migration conference in Frankfurt am Main. In front of a Goethe University building, he had a verbal argument with a protest group about his use of the “N-word”. After he repeated the term several times, the protesters confronted him with shouts of “Nazis out”. Palmer then said to the crowd: “It’s nothing but the Jewish star. That’s because I used a word that you attach everything else to. If you say the wrong word, you’re a Nazi.” The so-called N-word describes a racist term for black people that used to be used in Germany. As a consequence, Palmer resigned from his party on Monday.
A press release by the joint parliamentary group of the AL and the Greens on Tuesday said: “The AL/Green parliamentary group in Tübingen condemns these statements and clearly distances itself from them.” The parliamentary group respects Palmer’s announcement of a sabbatical in his office as mayor of Tübingen.
PM Group Greens
