A Bomb Has Exploded

©BZ

The final result of yesterday's election for the post of Freiburg's mayor came as a bombshell. Incumbent Dr. Dieter Salomon is only in second place, beaten by young hopeful Martin Horn. Left-liberal Monika Stein came in as a solid third and is within striking distance.

Martin Horn in front of that Object of Desire (©dpa)

Since none of the candidates reached the absolute majority of the votes, a second ballot will be necessary. On May 6, a simple majority will be sufficient to become Freiburg's new mayor.

Yesterday morning Elisabeth and Red Baron went to the Walter Eucken school building to cast our votes. The hand-painted poster* that we saw on the way was spelling trouble. Tenants and expensive rents are the Achilles' heel of Freiburg's administration. To a great extent, the authorities are helpless that the city's high attractiveness goes along with scarce housing space and ever-climbing rents.
*No tenant will vote for Salomon

At his somewhat muted election party, Salomon reacted, "There is a great deal of dissatisfaction with urban development. Many people know Freiburg needs to grow but do not like it." He continued his analysis, "For many citizens, the first vote was just a stance election. Now it will depend on how the political field is sorted," and finished optimistically, "In the first ballot, I got a shot in front of the bow; in the second ballot, one will choose correctly."

Correctly? From your lips to the voters' ears.

*