150 Years

Last Thursday evening, two citizens' associations of Freiburg's Wiehre district celebrated the 150th anniversary of their founding as the first Freiburg associations of their kind. The ceremony took place in the Historisches Kaufhaus.

Red Baron, a member of the Bürgerverein Mittel- and Unterwiehre, sat in the eighth row of the Kaisersaal.

In the back: A scene on Güntertalstraße in the 1950s.
The streetcar number 2 is still running.

The celebration was opened by a string trio from the Marmelade (jam) ensemble with a piece by Dvořák. The ladies once met when making jam and discovered they also played an instrument.

Lord Mayor Martin Horn then praised the 150 years of civic commitment in the Wiehre.

After a short musical transition, Professor Ulrich Eith gave a lecture entitled "Civic Engagement as a Prerequisite for Liberal Democracy."

He started by saying there is no such thing as Zuschauerdemokratie (spectator democracy) referring to the ongoing discussions in Germany on democracy and the 20% of voters who do not intend to go to the polls in our early federal election on February 23. And so he ended his lecture as he had started: There is no such thing as Zuschauerdemokratie.

The official part came to a close with a spirited Finnish dance that sounded Scottish to me, performed by the Marmelade ensemble.

It was a worthy anniversary celebration, which continued with sparkling and non-sparkling wine, beer, and a cold buffet.

A strong voice for the region

Red Baron met many friends at the festive evening and he shook hands with Lord Mayor Martin Horn and Dr. Klaus Schüle, the Christian Democrat candidate for Constituency 281, where Red Baron lives and votes.

In fact, the upcoming federal election is not just about posters.

Her slogan is best translated as "A promise is a promise,"
but why does she look so stern?

In the last federal election in 2021, the Green political scientist Chantal Kopf took the direct mandate of Constituency 281 with 28.8% of the votes from incumbent Matern von Marschall of the Christian Democrats (CDU) who got 20.6%. Matern came in only third place, as the Social Democrat (SPD) Julia Söhne won 26.3% of the votes in 2021. Before 2013, Gernot Erler from the SPD held the seat  of 281. This is why Freiburg journalists write of a swing constituency.

Scan the poster and vote SPD!

And this time, too, it promises to be exciting, with the incumbent Chantal Kopf (Greens), born in the States Dr. Klaus Schüle (CDU), and mathematician Dr. Ludwig Striet (SPD) running a three-way race on February 23.

It looks as if only two candidates have a chance of winning Constituency 281. Chantal Kopf has a slight lead in the polls over Klaus Schüle, but this is too close to call. Winning the direct mandate in Freiburg would send a strong signal to the Green Party.

However, CDU candidate Klaus Schüle also wants to come in first and commented, "The chance is there, but nothing is certain."

It remains exciting and remember: There is no such thing as Zuschauerdemokratie.

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