Let's remember Walter Wallmann, right now.

Wallmann was Mayor of Frankfurt from 1977 to 1986.

He later became Federal Minister and Prime Minister of Hesse.

So he was a mayor who was also welcome in other offices.

He would not have succeeded if he had not done an excellent job in Frankfurt: Wallmann, who died in 2013, lived up to his motto "Respice finem" - "Consider the end" in his actions.

According to the obituary published by the FAZ, this motto was a categorical, moral imperative.

What a contrast to the here and now.

The presence of the forthcoming voting-out procedure for the incumbent would therefore be the ideal time to commemorate Wallmann in the city.

A street should be named after Wallmann, which would do justice to his name.

At a time when Frankfurt in particular has to set an example for what mayors can do for a community, and how they are remembered for the integrity of their successful performance of office, Schaumainkai should therefore be renamed "Walter-Wallmann-Ufer".

No "self-service shop"

This is not only supported by the fact that there are various Frankfurt mayors, after whom streets are already named.

Wallmann is the father of the Museumsufer together with Hilmar Hoffmann, head of the cultural department at the time.

"His" street would be in exactly the right place.

Like Wallmann's name, the Museumsufer radiates throughout the entire country, in the positive sense that a city like Frankfurt am Main deserves.

And the message in 2022 goes beyond that: Wallmann was aware that the mandate for political leadership in a democracy would only be given by the citizen for a limited period of time.

He was convinced that public office should not be misused by politicians and parties as a "self-service shop".

Politicians should serve the community and the citizen, certainly not primarily themselves. Consider the end,

the consequences, it's about an internal control process that works individually as well as socio-politically.

It's about harnessing power.

Wallmann was always concerned with finding the right balance.

He knew how to behave as the head of a complex city like Frankfurt, that it was (and is) necessary to approach all layers, not just the supposedly "upper" or "lower".

After years of student unrest, Wallmann has given Frankfurt's self-confidence back.

What a good memory that is.

And Wallmann certainly wouldn't have anything against a “Hilmar-Hoffmann-Platz” either: Why not on the corner of Dürerstraße at the Städel?

Frankfurt could be reminiscent of a mayor and a head of department that the city can and should be proud of.