The crisis talks in the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of the Interior did not smooth the waves.

He came to Mainz with completely different expectations, said an audibly bad-tempered Hans Mayer, President of the Rhenish Carnival Corporations, after the meeting with Interior Minister Michael Ebling (SPD), which was also attended by Karl-Ludwig Fess, President of the German Carnival Association , had participated.

Both associations see the continuation of a centuries-old tradition in Rhineland-Palatinate and the future of the fool's procession at risk.

Markus Schug

Correspondent Rhein-Main-Süd.

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The Police and Regulatory Authorities Act, which was reformed in 2021, has so many specifications on 140 pages to ensure security at major events that the carnival clubs, which are mostly supported by volunteers, can hardly cope anymore - and in many places no longer want to.

According to Mayer, who complained that there was far too much bureaucracy, an Eifel community with 1,000 inhabitants could not have to put up more than 200 signs on streets and squares for their move.

And the establishment of a no-fly zone for drones during the great days, which may still be acceptable for a fool's stronghold like Mainz, should not become the norm either.

In the Palatinate in particular, but also along the Rhine - for example in Ludwigshafen and Mannheim as well as in neighboring Frankenthal - the carnival parades planned for 2023 have now been canceled by the clubs.

Because they cannot bear the enormously increased costs and are not prepared to bear the sole responsibility for the exuberant outdoor celebrations.

No compromises on security

In the Rhineland-Palatinate state capital, where the Rose Monday parade, which sometimes attracted half a million spectators before Corona, is to run as usual on February 20th, the responsible Mainz Carneval Association (MCV) from 1838 says that the costs associated with the security concept have been increasing since quintupled in 2015 - and only this item now amounts to around 200,000 euros.

The MCV, as the organizer of the street carnival, has to get financial support from other clubs this time for the construction of the floats, of which, despite significant price increases for the material, if possible ten copies should roll through the city center again.

For the first time, the customary reports that were common in the past are no longer sufficient to set up the “fleet of fools”.

Instead, the Ministry of Transport now requires a detailed inspection of all vehicles and trailers involved.

Even the basic TÜV report costs at least 150 euros per car, explained MCV President Hannsgeorg Schönig.

Which costs 3750 euros for 25 vehicles.

If retrofitting or conversions were also necessary, which the club should be informed about in the course of the week, the whole thing would be even more expensive.

Which is why Schönig is currently finding it difficult to even make a forecast as to how many of the “constructed caricatures” will actually be seen in the end.

Interior Minister Ebling, a self-confessed Fastnachter and active for years as a recorder at the Mombacher Bohnebeitel, understands the needs of the fools who are currently having to make a “cold start after Corona”.

After two failed campaigns, there is a lack of the necessary income and active people in many places.

When it comes to safety, however, no compromises can be made.

There have already been too many bad events for that – most recently in 2020 on Shrove Monday in Volkmarsen in Hesse.

According to Mayer and Fess, the clubs see it the same way.

However, the question of who ultimately has to bear the costs if the state imposes certain conditions, as in the specific case, is disputed.

As a voluntary custodian of customs, one cannot be compared to a football club worth millions, which can afford its own security services if necessary.

However, Ebling remained firm on Monday when it came to “More money from the state”.

This will even be discussed in the state parliament on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) has already announced in writing that she is happy about “the beginning of the crazy high phase in the country”.

In any case, she does not want to miss the Rose Monday procession in Mainz.