According to media reports, Tübingen’s mayor Boris Palmer (independent) wants to get involved with the Free Voters Association in the Tübingen district in the local elections in Baden-Württemberg in June next year. According to reports, the 51-year-old is to become active for the association faction in the Tübingen district council. Palmer did not comment on this when asked. Instead, he referred to a press conference on Monday in the Tübingen district office. The “Schwäbisches Tagblatt” first reported.
The parliamentary group leader of the Free Voters Association in the Tübingen district, Thomas Hölsch, told the newspaper: “It is in keeping with our DNA to have non-party and locally active mayors in our ranks.” Palmer “came to us” in early summer.
The SWR also quoted Hölsch as saying: “I think he fits well into our team.” The Free Voters Association is independent of parties and is only committed to the local cause. “Everyone is allowed to bring in their own ideas.” In addition, there is no compulsory faction in the association – “everyone can decide according to their knowledge and conscience”. The State Association of Free Voters Baden-Württemberg is an association and not a party.
Palmer (51) has been mayor of Tübingen since 2007 and repeatedly offends with political statements. He often caused controversy with statements about refugee policy, for example, and he was also accused of racism. However, his management during the corona pandemic and his local environmental policy brought nationwide attention and recognition.
In May of this year, the controversial politician resigned from the Green Party after a scandal over the use of the N-word at a migration conference in Frankfurt. His membership had already been suspended because of other controversial statements.
The Free Voters Association (FWV) has nothing to do with the Free Voters party, Hölsch told the German Press Agency in the evening. The FWV was founded in the 1950s. After the Federal Association of Free Voters was formed in 2010, the FWV wanted to have the name “Free Voters” protected because it feared a possible risk of confusion would be harmful to itself. But the Nuremberg-Fürth regional court decided against it in 2010. After this, the Federal Association of Free Voters was allowed to continue to use the term “Free Voters” for itself in the future.
