At the initiative of Goethe University President Prof. Dr. Enrico Schleiff, several figures from academia, business and sports, culture, as well as Frankfurt’s civil society joined hands for this guest article, published in Frankfurter Rundschau on the occasion of the municipal elections in Hesse.
Ensuring Frankfurt remains Frankfurt
A call to vote from academia, business, sports, culture and civil society
Our Frankfurt: a magnificent city. Modern and traditional at once, with chic and scruffy corners; often loud, sometimes quiet, always colorful, vibrant and cosmopolitan. The diva on the Main, located in the heart of Europe. Set within a strong region where economic strength, a spirit of innovation and openness to the future thrive across many places.
We are writing this editorial because this – our – Frankfurt and this – our – region are important to us, and because we believe that by casting your vote and convincing as many people as possible to do the same, you can help safeguard many appealing aspects and find solutions to problems.
Municipal elections take place on Sunday. And unfortunately, anti-democratic voices can also be heard: “Those in charge will continue to do what they want – why should I vote at all?” Or “these politicians have no clue about the real world.” Or “what we need is someone who will finally lay down the law.”
City Council members, district advisory council members, and members of the Advisory Council for Foreign Residents – all these individuals take on their mandate on a voluntary basis, on top of their regular job. They do not receive a salary for this work, just a small allowance – and we want to take this opportunity to thank all of them for their important contribution! The individuals we are talking about here are not “those in charge”, but those who live next door.
They decide on the future course. How well are daycare centers and schools financed? How frequently does the bus pass this stop? Where should new residential and industrial areas be planned, where bicycle paths and green spaces? What support is available to associations and/or cultural and social establishments?
Beyond their substantive importance, municipal parliaments form the foundation of democracy. This is where participation begins: in conversations with neighbors, at citizens’ assemblies, during question time in the district advisory councils, and in committee meetings. The City Council and the district advisory councils meet in public. Anyone who attends can see and hear for themselves how committed people work to find solutions for their neighborhoods and for their city. And they experience firsthand that reconciling different interests is not always easy – but that the effort is well worth it.
This is where politics becomes tangible. Especially in the district advisory councils, majorities often emerge across party lines. Parties may differ in their approaches, values and priorities, yet it is here where cooperation on the issue at hand frequently prevails over confrontation. The path to a decision lies at the heart of democracy: finding common ground among different interests, values and priorities.
We are committed individuals from business and academia, culture, sports and civil society. We are parents, bicycle riders, tenants and property owners, team players – we are residents of this city and region. Ensuring that our democratic processes work is a matter close to our hearts – in the interests of our businesses, associations, institutions and yes, also in our very own personal interest. While there are definitely moments in which we wish decisions could be reached quicker, we also know that every solution reached through a democratic process is better than an enforced one based on the interests of a specific group.
It matters to us that our city and the Rhine-Main region remain united in all their color and diversity, their openness to the world and, at times, their eccentricity. That they remain free and tolerant, guided by reason and open to dialogue. Our companies operate internationally, working across borders and relying on talent from around the world; racism, antisemitism and fantasies of isolation undermine the prosperity of the entire region. Sport and culture also depend on everyone being able to contribute and participate, regardless of origin, religion, sexual identity or other personal characteristics. And scientific progress depends on the freedom to exchange ideas openly – without censorship and with equal opportunities for all.
Of course, not everything is as it should be. That is why most parties debate on solutions that reflect their different priorities. This is precisely what democracy means: accepting differences of opinion and making them productive through debate – rather than becoming ever more irreconcilable. It means discussing real issues, not populist pseudo-solutions.
Our quality of life, our prosperity – indeed our freedom – depend in part on what happens in these elections. What we need are not ideological slogan-shouters but a functioning infrastructure and public safety. We must tackle traffic congestion and climate change if we want to preserve our quality of life. We need housing that people can actually afford – even those who do not work on the top floor of a bank tower. We need a vibrant cultural life and a strong education system to attract bright minds and keep them here. We need room for businesses to grow and for culture to thrive for everyone. And we need politics that look beyond their own backyards and keep the whole region in view.
For Frankfurt to remain a successful, modern city in a strong Rhine-Main region, we need international openness. Isolation, narrow-mindedness, intolerance and hatred do more than poison society; they also harm business and sport, science and culture – destroying jobs, prosperity and future opportunities. It deeply concerns us that some of the political slogans of our time echo, at best, the stifling narrowness of the post-war years and, at worst, the ethnic-nationalist fantasies of the 1930s.
We have come together to write this statement from a variety of perspectives. We see many issues in municipal politics differently. We will likely vote for different parties. But we share one common appeal: please vote on Sunday. If you are a citizen of an EU country, take part in the elections to the City Council and the district advisory councils. If you do not hold a German passport, vote in the election to the Advisory Council for Foreign Residents.
And please give your vote to someone you trust to keep the common good, our diversity and our entire city in mind. Because together we are this sometimes temperamental yet wonderfully vibrant and energetic, tolerant and open-minded diva on the Main. We are all Frankfurt. Let’s shape our city’s future together – we have a choice.
This guest article, which is supported by:
Hassan Annouri
Music producer and chairman of the association “Wir sind alles Frankfurter”
Markus Fein
Artistic Director and Managing Director Alte Oper
Nura Froemel
Chairwoman of the Council of Religions
Elmar Fulda
President of the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (HfMDK)
Susanne Haus
President of the Frankfurt-Rhine-Main Chamber of Skilled Crafts
Axel Hellmann
CEO of Eintracht Frankfurt Fußball AG
Annabelle Hornung
Director of the Museum for Communication in Frankfurt
Christine Kopf
Artistic Director of the DFF – German Film Institute & Film Museum
Stefan Krämer
Managing Director and Partner of Löwen Frankfurt
Robert Lempka
Managing Director of FSV Frankfurt 1899 Fußball GmbH
Bernd Loebe
Artistic Director and Managing Director of Oper Frankfurt
Sabine Mauderer
Vice President of the Deutsche Bundesbank
Volker Mosbrugger
President of the Polytechnische Gesellschaft e. V.
Henni Nachtsheim
Comedian
Petra Römer
Chair of the Executive Board of TG Bornheim 1860 e. V.
Enrico Schleiff
President of Goethe University Frankfurt
Kai-Oliver Schocke
President of Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences
Stefan Schulte
Chairman of the Executive Board of Fraport AG
Gunnar Wöbke
Chairman of the Executive Board of Skyliners
Juliane Wolf
Paralympic Table Tennis Player
Marion Zerlin
Managing Director, R&D at Sanofi Aventis GmbH
