Federal President meets citizens: For the seventh time, Frank-Walter Steinmeier is setting out for a “local time” in remote regions of the country, this time to Senftenberg in southern Brandenburg.
The head of state will have his official residence there for three days from today. Steinmeier wants to find out by Thursday how the people in Lusatia will deal with the foreseeable end of coal mining and the changes that will come with it. The reception of refugees should also be an issue.
Steinmeier started the “Local Time Germany” series last year at the beginning of his second term. The President always takes the time for detailed and informal talks with citizens and local politicians in order to get to know the mood in the country better. So far, five of the seven stations have been in eastern Germany.
Promote solidarity with Ukraine
On his first day in Senftenberg, Steinmeier wants to sign the small town’s Golden Book of about 23,000 inhabitants and talk to local politicians. The current topics of the coming days also include the relationship with Russia and solidarity with Ukraine. Discussions with young people are also planned. At the city council on June 17, 1953, the GDR uprising, the head of state wants to give a speech.
Since German reunification, Senftenberg has already experienced major economic and social upheavals. The city is developing from an industrial city to a tourist center and an attractive location for business and science. During a visit to the Senftenberg location of the Brandenburg Technical University (BTU), the Federal President wants to talk to representatives of the university and student body about the transformation in Lusatia.
Within the framework of local time, the head of state was already in Völklingen in Saarland, Freiberg in Saxony, Neustrelitz in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Rottweil in Baden-Württemberg, Quedlinburg in Saxony-Anhalt and Altenburg in Thuringia.
