Potsdam decides: Schubert from voting - supporting citizens or dropping?

Potsdam decides: Schubert from voting - supporting citizens or dropping?

Potsdam, Deutschland - Mike Schubert (SPD), Mayor of Potsdam, faces a decisive citizens' decision that decides on his political future. The citizens' decision scheduled for Sunday is the result of a deselection procedure that was initiated by the city councils. Schubert has been in office since November 28, 2018 and took over the management of his predecessor Jann Jakobs. During his early days he was perceived as dynamic and eloquent; In recent years, however, he has had to take increasing criticism. Allegations that the administration do not correctly conduct and do not implement decisions of the city council have significantly influenced the debate about his office. The group BVB/Freie Voter, represented by Michael Reichert, emphasizes that there is a cross -faction unity in the demand for Schubert's deselection.

The state capital Potsdam has around 143,000 eligible voters, of whom already applied for more than 21,000 postal voting documents. In order to be voted out, Schubert needs the approval of a majority of the voters and also has to reach at least a quarter of the eligible voters - this corresponds to around 36,000 votes. If the citizens' decision turns out negatively for him, the treasurer Burkhardt Exner (SPD) would take over the official business.

criticism and challenges

Despite the criticism of possible vote, Schubert sees no reason to withdraw from his post. He plans to stay in office until autumn 2026 and to complete his projects that have started, such as the restoration of the city channel and the creation of living space. The latter is particularly challenging because in the past he has pointed out that the Corona pandemic and the Ukraine war caused the construction costs to increase significantly, which is between 21 and 26 euros per square meter in Potsdam.

However, Schubert has also been reproached in the past, including that he had not implemented any of his ten announced projects since he took office. The topic of heat supply and youth protection were also cited in the political discussion as inadequate issues. Schubert himself admits that he should have been more sensitive in terms of various challenges.

The VIP ticket affair

In addition, Schubert was involved in a controversy that has to do with the assumption of VIP tickets for sporting events. In this context, the public prosecutor's office in Neuruppin hired an investigation due to benefits in office after Schubert had to pay 20,000 euros to a non -profit organization and 14,046 euros to the state treasury. The investigation has shown that Schubert has accepted free of charge from Potsdam's sports clubs since 2019. The public prosecutor certified that he had acted actively on the clarification of the facts.

Despite these difficulties, the SPD remains behind him. Denise Leonhardt, a member of the SPD, expressed the view that Schubert had done a good job. He himself defended the practice of receiving the ticket as part of his obligation to represent, while he has announced that he would rethink future assumptions.

In this tense situation, the freestyle faction also initiated a second description process against Schubert. However, the current situation also opposes opinions that state that many Potsdamers either do not perceive the problem or find it exaggerated. The outcome of the citizens' decision on Sunday will be decisive to determine the political fate of Mike Schubert and the future orientation of Potsdam city policy.

For more information about the upcoming decisions in Potsdam and the background of the current developments, read here: rbb24 , Tagesspiegel and rbb24