secondSince the disaster night in July, resentment towards Jürgen Pföhler, the chief executive of the Ahrweiler district, has been brewing in the Ahr Valley. “For me, this is the best example of all-round political failure,” said a citizen from Ahrweiler. The other sentence he dropped is unquotable. In view of this sentiment, even their own party friends openly opposed Pföhler in the district council.On Wednesday, they are going to approve a resolution Social Democratic Party Will bring in. In it, Pföhler was asked to “clear the way for a new start.”
On Monday night, the CDU parliamentary group has issued a similar statement in the circle. It talked about the necessary “new starting point in personnel.” It can be seen that “in the past and on the day of the disaster, there were failures and mistakes.” From this, “necessary conclusions can be drawn.” The procuratorate’s investigation into the “to what extent” was responsible for the operation and management of the night of the disaster and whether it was “legally guilty” is logical. “However, according to our understanding, when a criminal investigation is underway, people cannot exercise their authority.”
The Koblenz Prosecutor’s Office began an investigation of Pföhler and another member of the crisis team on August 4. It is about the suspicion of manslaughter and bodily harm caused by failure. In early August, when Chief Prosecutor Harald Kruse talked about the initiation of the investigation, he recalled that the “perpetrators of all this” were mainly “nature or destiny.” “That’s what the detective said. Of course it’s true. Everything I’m going to tell you next shouldn’t be forgotten.” In essence, this is because people are warned too late and areas affected by water are being It was too late to evacuate.
“We want a new political start”
The district administrator Pföhler announced in a press release on August 10 that everyone involved in the operation “acted to the best of their knowledge and belief.” According to the district, he took sick leave the next day. Since then, Pföhler has been led by the first district councilor and councillor Horst Gies (Horst Gies).CDU) represent. In light of the investigation and according to the CDU parliamentary group, Pföhler “will no longer be able to exercise his position in the foreseeable future”, the CDU parliamentary group concluded: “District mayor Dr. Jürgen Pföhler therefore no longer serves His position is necessary and inevitable.” Michael Schneider, the regional manager of the CDU, does not want the statement to be interpreted as a request for resignation. “We want a new political start,” he told FAZ
However, it is obvious that according to the understanding of Peffler’s party friends, he cannot have a new start as the mayor. It can be assumed that the resolution made by the Social Democratic Party will obtain the necessary simple majority in the district council this Wednesday. A coalition composed of the CDU (17 seats), free voter groups (6 seats) and the Liberal Democrats (3 seats) governs the circle. The largest opposition faction is the Green Party with 9 seats, followed by the Social Democratic Party with 7 seats. As its chairman, Wolfgang Schlagwein (Wolfgang Schlagwein) said, the Green Party parliamentary group wants to put forward a motion for voting. However, if, as expected, he does not find a majority, his parliamentary group will at least agree to the Social Democratic Party’s resolution.
The Social Democratic Party neither requires resignation nor insists on voting procedures. Because it will take a lot of time. “The important thing for us now is that there is no endless discussion: will he come back?” said Christoph Schmidt, leader of the SPD parliamentary group and candidate for the Bundestag. It is about “calling everyone to avoid complicated voting procedures.” For voting procedures, the district council must first decide to initiate such procedures with a simple majority. After two weeks, two-thirds of parliamentarians will have to decide the procedure. In the primary elections, citizens will vote to decide whether district administrators should go. At least 30% of citizens who have had enough of flood damage will have to participate. If they are rejected, they will have to elect a new district chief within three months.
The newly started public enactment can give district administrators the opportunity to retire early. When asked if he was considering this matter, Pföhler’s FAZ press office did not answer. Regarding the question of whether he is considering resigning, some people said: “He has announced that he will not resign.” Pföhler is 63 years old this year and is his third district chief. However, if he does not take action before the end of September, the SPD hopes to initiate a voting process. Before the district council meets again in early October.
