The race for the entry into the Essen city hall is in the home stretch: Franz-Josef Britz (CDU) and Reinhard passport (SPD) to clarify their positions in the dispute on issues such as debt reduction, child poverty, Limbecker space and transport.
Mr. Britz, Mr passport to grab you at first if you should be elected on Sunday for the mayor?
Franz-Josef Britz: First, I will invite the key decision-makers in the city, association representatives, contractors and volunteers, to talk to strengthen the commitment to eat. I will continue our previously successful work in the city.
Interview with the mayor candidate of the SPD Essen, Reinhard passport.
Reinhard passport, I will close the majority in the Council for appropriate decision for the swimming pool Hesse back to visit all the relevant representatives of urban society and make the new treasurer a cash crash.
Each majority in the Council needs to save face even three billion debt. Curiously enough, which have not been addressed. Now you can reveal: where the citizens can expect to pay cuts?
Britz: Yes, we must continue to save anywhere, no area is excluded: Whether culture, sport or social. We also need to save the theater – the deficit should be increased any further, but we want to maintain the fields. Unbound, we already have in recent years – even under massive criticism for sports. Therefore, the pool is for Hesse 1.5 million for family-oriented recreational and health site converted with water. I hear from Mr. passport and his SPD only where they do not want to save, but not what they want to do. Whoever does so, we could afford everything that is not telling the whole truth.
Pass: That says no, of course we have to save money, we have followed the consolidation rate is always constructive. But it all comes first and foremost on the political willingness to shape where we invest where we cut off. The CDU is designed too little, much can happen.
But where do you want to save?
Pass: In the next ten years, leaving more than 3,000 public servants, the Government – for reasons of age. That discretion, we must use to become more efficient, we need to verify that a shrinking population, the urban functions to cooperate more with other cities – that does not require every city has a fine point. In the end, this also means a reduction in places – but without any redundancies, and in close coordination with the Staff Committee. And that should not affect the quality of service for citizens.
So food has 18 000 employees with too many expensive personnel on board, must be dismantled?
Britz: This flat rate can not say that. We must seize the opportunities to cooperate with other cities to cut costs, as now, the transport company. As a city must go ahead, and we need to be eating, because we want to take a leadership role. Overall, then of course we need fewer staff than at present.
Pass: If you want to cooperate with other cities, we may not occur with harsh cries of “We’re the capital of the Ruhr area”, but needs to make deals at eye level. The mistrust of other communities to the great city of Essen is not exactly small.
Eating is a socially divided city. How important it is for you to fill up the social divide?
Franz-Josef Britz (CDU): “The rebuilding of the railway station will result in spite of all Krinik end up with a decent card for the city.” (Kerstin Kokoska waz photo pool)
Franz-Josef Britz (CDU): “The rebuilding of the railway station will result in spite of all Krinik end up with a decent card for the city.”
Britz: The fact that we have a social gap in the city is not to be denied. This must not continue. But we have worked successfully in the past ten years to reduce the social divide. We have equipped the schools and nursery schools better, we have promoted the knowledge of the German children early on. The Essen-North is now a green city with new parks, with a new lake and the new family-friendly communities. Such a positive development did not exist before. We are even accused now of our party friends in the South, we would be neglecting in favor of the north to the south.
Pass: I am pleased with the commitment to the North. But in our city live an average of 30 percent of the children of welfare, most of which is in the north – the proportion of needy has increased steadily. In the north, much more needs to happen, zuzubauen as open space. We need to invest more instead of heads in stone – with more education and care. We can not treat unequal things equal, but must at the schools in the north a pedagogically valuable full-day care with lunch without extra cost to ensure for the parents. In addition, we need more social workers in schools with difficult students.
The city groans under the population decline. Other cities to lure families with free kindergartens, the SPD proposes to eat at least a royalty-Kita prior year. What do you want to do, Mr. Britz?
Britz: I would I like to do, but who now promises something that tells against better knowledge wrong. For our city, I see no chance. We may indeed not even the parents reimburse the strike days of educators, which prohibits financial supervision. In addition, we have managed to bring the departure of family net to zero, because we also could rebuild many family homes. The daycare charges do not move families to move.
Pass: We do not want the third-year kindergarten make contributory primarily because families threaten to pull away, but to relieve families and increase educational opportunities for children. Food should be as attractive, given the general mobility for families, so they prefer to eat. The old label, child-friendly city ‘is no longer filled with life, especially as 20 kilometers away advertises a city like Dusseldorf with free kindergartens.
Many also see the label, food shopping city ‘damaged because the Kettwigerstrasse threatening bleeding in favor of the shopping center Limbecker place. Was the wrong decision for shopping?
Franz-Josef Britz candidate for the CDU in the local elections in Essen as Mayor video: Stefan Kober
Britz: No, not at all. It is even a model for other cities. For the shopping center is located in the bustling city, not on the edge. The street has come Limbecker already benefited. The property owners on the need to take Kettwiger face of departure from Saturn and C & A competition more actively than before. We do not have too many commercial buildings in Essen. And the station reconstruction will be the end result despite the criticism of an ordinary business card for the city.
Pass: The shopping center was the right decision, because the alternative would be that we have there is still an old department store are crooked. Something had to happen, whether the mall is a timeless beauty that is another question. The rehabilitation of the railway station means just a little new color with no real improvement, since not even to clean the facade. This is not a showpiece, but the station remains an ugly building in which it will be very drängelig for passengers, because the retail space has been enlarged.
The new A52 motorway through the city from north to south and an expansion of the airport are sensitive traffic contentious issues. What is your opinion?
Britz: Well, in any case, we need a regional airport, which is not economical to operate anyway, as we see in the case of Dortmund. Our local airport is not expanded.
Pass: The same way I see it. We do not need the airport, had better look to enable the student pilots their hobby with many takeoffs and landings, who is no longer as close to a big city. However, we urgently need food in the expansion of the A52, to relieve the inner city streets from through traffic. We argue, first durchzustrecken the northern route, then you can take care of the tunneling of the Ruhr Allee.
Britz: For many reasons, the A52 is required, but this link should not only customs union, but also include the inner-city traffic. We are a Ruhrallee tunnel, making this – otherwise the town will not approve the project. We will be able to enforce against Straßen.NRW, because we need the traffic relief for the inner-city streets. We now have at least a good chance of getting a clean A52 to.
The construction of stadiums for RWE is a clear north-south issue. Mr. passport, you will be happy that the professional club was like the stadium to the urban project?
Reinhard passport: “I will take back the decision for closure of the swimming pool Hesse.” Foto: Kerstin Kokoska (kerstin Kokoska waz photo pool)
Reinhard passport: “I will take back the decision for closure of the swimming pool Hesse.” Foto: Kerstin Kokoska
Pass (laughs): Well, it is sponsoring yet so long ago that urban societies the professional association RWE, because companies like to present themselves with a positive mark. But given the state of the association it was necessary that the city as a kind of bad bank had to pay part of the debt in order to save the club – in the hope that RWE will repay it later. The alternative would have been bankruptcy.
If Mr. Britz, professional football, an urban mission?
Britz: No, not at all. But it is clear we need a stadium, because it is so dilapidated. The stadium is part of the city, we would have to invest 15 million euros to renovate anyway, now there are 24 million euros. I compare this with the construction of the Aalto-Theater, which has also not fit into the time, but only led to European success of the Essen Opera. And the stadium will also provide new impetus for RWE.
Pass: The city has for too long, however, failed to seize the opportunities that were there before: The more sporty position of RWE and an increased willingness by private sponsors to give money.
Britz: The offer still stood at that time already, but it was not a sponsor because of money.
Pass: in principle but was made by the city but not a cent available; year and a half before the election it was discovered then that the social bias of the city are covered with the help of the new stadium need. Now the city must pay almost a hundred percent, but that is unfortunately not possible otherwise.
Britz: We could not use alleged earlier chances, because the sponsors have made no reliable commitments.
Even shortly before the election, the voters do not know with whom you actually want to govern eating.
Pass: I believe that two-man situations – except a collaboration of the Great – the Council will not be a majority. Trilateral cooperation are very unstable. One is well advised as mayor to bring about substantive majority moderator. We have already 90 percent of the subjects agreed unanimously by the Council.
Britz: That’s right, that was in the Council always has. But I prefer a true alliance of three parties for a stable clear majority.
The most stable alliance would be a grand coalition.
Britz: To me, that would be considered as the very last, because that would only strengthen the small parties. For urban development that would not be good.
Passport: If brothers and sisters of two giants, I think this is also not as successful – a mayor have to see, finally, that the Council is fully involved as a representative of all citizens. A written collaboration between the CDU and SPD will not give in any case.
But you talk to the Left, Mr passport?
Pass: The Mayor is the Chairman of the Council and to talk to case basis with all groups, but between the SPD and the Left, there will be no formal cooperation. For, apart from fundamental differences on policy issues are among the Essenes left a heterogeneous, is composed by random group of supporters of the Communist Party, MLDP and the former PDS. When, however, raise their left hand, is indeed the case.