The reasons for the exclusion from the party of the green mayor of Tübingen, Boris Palmer, can now be discussed in public.

Because the politician, who is little loved by his party, posted the brief of the Cologne party lawyer Sebastian Roßner on the Internet this week.

On 34 pages, Roßner, on behalf of the Baden-Württemberg state association, has compiled all of Palmer's controversial statements between 2015 and 2021 that could justify the exclusion of the mayor, who was successful in local politics.

Palmer justifies his approach by recalling a central founding promise of his party: the greatest possible transparency, which fits in with the "prevailing practice" of the Greens to disclose political and party-political processes.

Rudiger Soldt

Political correspondent in Baden-Württemberg.

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Reasons for exclusion from a party are violations of its principles, its statutes or its regulations.

In Palmer's case, there are a number of statements and polarizing discussions that he has expected of his party since the refugee crisis in 2015.

In the pleading there are statements by Palmer that could be relevant to the proceedings and those that might say something about Palmer's character or the respective political discussion in Germany, but which are probably rather unsuitable for justifying exclusion from the party.

Palmer's statements in refugee policy

The discussion about the "Tübinger Mohrenköpfle", a candy sold in the university town, is presented. When it came to the question of the extent to which this product name was racist and had to be replaced, the green politician recommended more calm and tolerance towards those who had no problems with the word. It should be similar with a statement by AfD politician Georg Pazderski, who spoke out in favor of Palmer as governing mayor of Berlin because the mayor of Tübingen had railed against the “opinion tyrants” in his party.

Palmer’s statements in refugee policy, the use of the word “negro tail”, the rejection of the UN migration pact, the use of the term “human rights fundamentalism” and his criticism of the pandemic policy aimed at protecting older, vulnerable corona patients are likely to be much more serious for the party exclusion process be. Indeed, these statements are very likely to contradict the core programmatic beliefs of the Green Party, namely the protection of minorities and immigrants.

The lawyers commissioned by the state executive come to a clear statement: "Protecting human rights, especially as the rights of minorities, is therefore one of the most important goals of the party," says the reasoning behind the exclusion from the party.

In the case of the Greens, this applies in particular to asylum seekers and refugees - the party advocated their rights even when it ran counter to current political trends.

In integration, immigration and human rights policy, Palmer violated the party's principles “in toto”.

Leave the soil of the Basic Law?

With two statements, writes the lawyer for the state executive, Palmer was even no longer in accordance with the Basic Law: That was the case when he asked asylum seekers to behave “more law-abiding” than German citizens. In doing so, he constructed a legal inequality that does not exist. Even with his statement made in a television interview at the beginning of 2021 that with the pandemic policy the government is only saving people who no longer have a high life expectancy anyway, he left the programmatic framework of the Basic Law. The right to life and physical integrity is one of the fundamental rights protected by the constitution. In addition, Palmer almost always acted willful and with his statements violated the order of the party,because he had failed to meet various obligations of loyalty.

Palmer criticizes that the pleading is still not available to his attorney Rezzo Schlauch and that the question of whether the district arbitration tribunal has jurisdiction over the proceedings has still not been decided. Lena Schwelling, the green state chairman elected at the weekend, did not want to comment on Palmer's approach, it was an ongoing process. For Boris Palmer, his political survival depends on the progress of the party exclusion process: Mayor elections will be held in Tübingen in autumn 2022, but his party wants to determine the candidate by primary election. So far, there has only been one applicant, District Councilor Ulrike Baumgärtner. He has not yet decided whether Palmer will face the primary election at all. Should he run as an independent candidate and remain a member of the Greens,he could even provoke his exclusion from the party: Because candidacies in the name of a party without being officially nominated are one of the most common reasons for successful party exclusion procedures.