The mayor of Frankfurt, Peter Feldmann (SPD), who is under great pressure because of an indictment by the public prosecutor's office and allegations of sexism, does not want to resign from his office.

He made mistakes and is rightly criticized, said Feldmann, who read a statement in front of his office.

But he wants to continue to devote himself to the "big social issues" that are close to his heart.

However, he will refrain from representative appointments until the end of the summer break.

"I will not work less, but differently."

Rainer Schulz

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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His own party had previously asked him to resign.

Feldmann has been criticized for his involvement in the workers' welfare affair, but also for a series of public missteps.

The public prosecutor's office has filed charges against the mayor on suspicion of taking advantage.

She accuses him of having used his position to get his partner at the time and later wife a job as a day-care center manager for the Arbeiterwohlfahrt, including a company car, which is paid above the standard wage rate.

In addition, the Arbeiterwohlfahrt is said to have supported him in the election campaign by raising donations.

This local political affair has also gained nationwide relevance in recent weeks through questionable public appearances.

"I really wanted to touch the trophy"

Feldmann, who actually wanted to hold back from public appearances because of the indictment, pushed himself to the fore and behaved awkwardly at the reception of the European Cup winner Eintracht Frankfurt on the Römerberg.

In the past few days, demands for the resignation of the Frankfurt mayor had increased.

The current trigger was a lewd speech to Eintracht fans on the flight to the European Cup final in Seville, which had brought Feldmann the accusation of sexism.

He had said the flight attendants put him "hormonally incapacitated".

Despite an apology, the outrage did not abate.

Not only did the opposition and coalition partners demand his immediate resignation, his own party did as well.

Feldmann said that he was shocked when he saw the video from the plane.

Even as the father of two wonderful children, he could only apologize from the bottom of his heart.

At the Eintracht reception, “the horses went through him”.

"I really wanted to touch the trophy," he said.

That doesn't change his respect for unity.

Role model Boris Palmer

Feldmann said of his role in the Awo affair that he was firmly convinced of his innocence and would prove it.

When asked about the SPD's resignation, Feldmann said he wanted to find a new relationship with his party and cited Tübingen Mayor Boris Palmer as a role model.

After various controversies, Palmer wants to let his membership in the Greens rest.

Coalition partners keep their distance

The coalition partners in Römer express strong criticism of Feldmann's decision.

The Greens in Frankfurt, who form a coalition with the SPD, the FDP and Volt, are "very irritated" that Feldmann still does not want to resign.

"For us it is clear: The investigations against him in the course of the AWO scandal and his handling of the allegations made against him as well as his misconduct in the last few days have made it more than clear that Lord Mayor Peter Feldmann is obviously not in a position to be exercise office,” say the leaders of the parliamentary group, Tina Zapf-Rodríguez and Dimitrios Bakakis.

Feldmann damaged and shamed the city and local politics.

"His repeated promises to hold back are not sufficient!" If he does not resign of his own free will, a vote-out procedure will be initiated.

The FDP also considers a resignation to be absolutely necessary: ​​“The events of the past few days have made the camel overflow.

Feldmann stood in the way of himself and the city for almost three years.

Frankfurt's reputation has suffered enormously as a result of his misconduct," explains parliamentary group leader Yanki Pürsün.

The FDP is ready to be voted out.

Feldmann does not understand what is expected of him.

“Despite more and more allegations, he has increasingly lost respect for the office.

His word can no longer be relied on, as can be seen from his broken promise to hold back in public appearances,” says Pürsün.

After three years of state of emergency around the mayor in the AWO scandal, there will be no objective working atmosphere in the Römer in the future either.

“Feldmann continues to cause unrest and remains a burden for everyone.

Normalcy can only return if he resigns from his post,” says Pürsün.

Before his statement, the Working Group of Social Democratic Women (ASF) in Frankfurt had withdrawn its support from the SPD politician.

In an open letter published on Wednesday, the ASF asked Feldmann to look into himself and draw the necessary conclusions.

"We can no longer support you," it says, according to dpa.

The statement in which he said about flight attendants that they "put him out of action hormonally at first" was shameful.

The ASF was appalled and distanced itself from it.

"We condemn sexist behavior in any form and that's why we've been formulating a motion on this topic for our district party conference for weeks.

We are all the more stunned to have to realize that our application has become up-to-date so quickly," writes the working group.

"It hits us hard that one of us, our mayor, whom we have always supported, derailed like this."