SPD cancels coalition
Defeat for Hanover’s green Mayor Onay
November 28, 2023, 12:06 a.m
Hanover’s green mayor will present a concept in mid-September with which he wants to make the city center of the Lower Saxony capital car-free by 2030. But Belit Onay has apparently alienated his coalition partner. The SPD is now terminating its cooperation with him.
Damage to Hanover’s Green Mayor Belit Onay and his plan for an almost car-free city center: The SPD has ended the coalition with the Greens in the council of the Lower Saxony capital. The board of the SPD Hanover made this decision with a large majority, the Social Democrats announced in the afternoon. The coalition work was characterized by mistrust and various conflicts.
“Instead of ideological rigidity and constant arguments, our focus is on solving problems,” said Hanover’s SPD leader Adis Ahmetovic. Onay’s downtown concept has been a point of contention for weeks. The Social Democrats criticized that it was presented by the mayor alone. The strongest faction in the council does not want to look for a new coalition partner, but is in favor of changing majorities.
The termination of the coalition is not good news for Hanover – especially not in such turbulent times, said Mayor Onay in the town hall. “We were on the right track.” He was surprised and upset. The town hall boss appealed to all democratic forces in the city council to ensure the ability to make decisions. “We have to move Hanover further forward,” he said, referring to the multiple crises. “There must be no standstill or even regression.” The head of the town hall will have to look for his majorities in the council in the future. Theoretically, the SPD could also block projects together with the CDU and FDP.
The “car-free” concept is the main point of contention
Onay was elected as the new mayor of Hanover at the end of 2019, ending more than 70 years of SPD rule in the town hall. The concept of Hanover’s almost car-free city center had become the main point of contention. The state capital presented a corresponding concept in mid-September, and the goal should be achieved by 2030: “Car-free means: There are not too many cars in the city,” Onay said at the time. The town hall boss emphasized that the concept is not buried. Parking spaces in public spaces should therefore be made way; those who live in the city center should be able to access the private parking space by car, taxi and delivery traffic will also be allowed to operate, and people with disabilities will even receive more parking spaces. In the future, only a few cul-de-sacs will lead to the parking garages, but there will be more space for pedestrians and cyclists.
The vision of a car-free city center was an important issue in Green politician Onay’s election campaign for the office of mayor. But the concept has not yet been decided. City planning officer Thomas Vielhaber emphasized in September that he expected a fundamental decision in autumn or winter – that would now be difficult. According to Vielhaber, the plan was to begin the renovation work in mid-2024. According to Onay’s previous information, funding of around 20 million euros was obtained for this purpose. At the end of December 2022, the council also decided on the double budget for 2023 and 2024 – in Onay’s words, the basis for a car-free city center by 2030. The sudden break comes “in the midst of constructive discussions and presents urban society with a political crisis,” said the Green city association .
CDU criticizes the mayor’s “go-it-alone” approach
Volker Schmidt, managing director of the General Employers’ Association (AGV) for Hanover and the surrounding area, criticized the mayor’s plans for Hanover City as not being able to gain a majority. The Social Democrats’ decision is based on the interests of the future. “The city’s reputation has suffered enough damage,” said Schmidt. There is now an opportunity for a new beginning in transport policy in the inner city development that takes into account “the interests of trade, industry and employees”.
The chairman of the CDU parliamentary group in the regional assembly, Bernward Schlossarek, said: “People have no longer been able to tolerate the patronizing policy for a long time and therefore it is only logical that the red-green alliance ends here and now.” He criticized the mayor’s “go-it-alone” approach.