OB election in Mainz: A cartridge that can land on target

You have to get it right first: listening to a laudatory speech from the Deputy Prime Minister, having your own skills explained in detail, culminating in the statement that you are "the right man in the right place" - and standing by without grinning like a honey cake horse.

Christian Viering manages it.

The thirty-eight-year-old, who will be running for the Mainz Greens in the race for the post of mayor, looks almost humble during Katharina Binz's words.

Only at the end does a smile cross his face when the highest-ranking Rhineland-Palatinate Green Party emphasizes his "incredibly open, communicative" manner: "He embodies the Mainz way of life."

No question, with Viering's nomination, the district executive and parliamentary group of the Greens managed a surprise.

The confirmation by the general meeting on November 19 should only be a matter of form.

Previously, other names had been traded, primarily women.

For example Binz herself, the Minister for Family, Women, Culture and Integration.

Or as another member of the cabinet, the former head of department in Mainz and today's environment and transport minister, Katrin Eder.

Or her successor in the city hall of the state capital, Environment and Transport Department head Janina Steinkrüger.

But also the member of parliament Daniel Koebler.

Mayor Günter Beck was not an issue: At 66, the head of finance and sports is no longer allowed to compete for reasons of age.

Fear of social decline

Viering had nobody outside the party on the bill.

Inside, his name probably only came into play after the potential candidates had waved them off or hesitated too long.

That sounds like an emergency solution - and could turn out to be an absolute coup.

Not only because Viering has more experience in local politics than all the other applicants combined.

Among other things, he was a member of the city council for ten years and the Weisenau local advisory board for eight years and was the district chairman of his party for four years until 2021.

"The social question and the question of how we deal with climate change are the most pressing issues in our city, and they are two sides of the same coin," he said at his presentation.

Many people are afraid of social decline, and rising energy costs pose existential challenges. "Urban society can only function if it tries not to leave the weakest behind."

In addition to social cohesion and climate neutrality, Viering has also taken up the cause of "laying the foundation for the future economic success of the city and for good jobs".

He can counter possible accusations from the conservative camp that he wants to sacrifice the economy in favor of climate protection as a Green Party with his CV: Viering is a skilled chemical worker and worked for Boehringer Ingelheim on rotating shifts for several years before he was released from work as a works council member in 2014.

Commuting between the chemical plant break room and the Green City Council faction may seem like living in parallel universes.

"But Christian is a bridge builder," said Katharina Binz about her party friend, who is also a member of the district executive board of IG mining, chemicals and energy.

"He speaks everyone's language."

Declaration of war on enemies of democracy

This also applies, not least, to one of the largest target groups in the city: the fans of FSV Mainz 05. Viering has been involved in the scene as a volunteer fan representative for the club since 2006, as a member for eleven years and as chairman of the fan project for four years.

Since 2017 he has also been a member of the association's supervisory board, which was elected for the first time.

The Green wants to advocate a more family-friendly city in which city employees and educators can also afford to live.

Elevating them to a higher salary level is a task that is worth discussing more intensively with the supervisory and service authority.

And Viering wants a tolerant, cosmopolitan, colorful city, as he emphasized in his presentation: "For everyone who wants to lay the ax on democracy, this is a declaration of war today."

Perhaps Christian Viering was the Greens' last patron in the fight to succeed Michael Ebling (SPD), who had risen to become Minister of the Interior in Rhineland-Palatinate.

But that doesn't have to mean that it can't also land on the finish line.

In any case, the field of competitors is not intimidatingly strong.

The SPD relies on its co-chair Mareike von Jungsenfeld, who is largely unknown to the public, and CDU candidate Manuela Matz on her bonus as head of the economic department.

Non-party Nino Haase, Ebling's surprisingly strong opponent in the runoff three years ago, has reappeared to keep his promise to "stand up for our Mainz".

But Haase no longer has the Christian Democrats as a basis.

And the FDP has just appointed the 32-year-old lawyer Marc Engelmann, who is at best known to hardcore experts in local politics in Mainz.

The fact that the Greens have a good chance of breaking into the phalanx of SPD mayors for the first time is not only related to Viering's content, but also to a quality that Katharina Binz particularly emphasized: "He's an incredibly good campaigner." February next year will show whether this is at least enough to move into the runoff.