Only the Tone Is New, Not the Politics
The FDP group on Passau city council firmly rejects the counter-attack by SPD group chairman Markus Sturm on its criticism of Lord Mayor Andreas Rother’s 100-day record. Sturm does not refute …
Automatically translated from German. Read the original
The FDP group on Passau city council firmly rejects the counter-attack by SPD group chairman Markus Sturm on its criticism of Lord Mayor Andreas Rother’s 100-day record. Sturm does not refute a single point of criticism, the group says, but is fighting a straw man: nobody demanded that all of the city’s problems be solved after 100 days. What one may expect, however, is a recognisable direction, clear priorities and decisions of his own – and not the impression that things are carrying on as before. That is precisely what has been lacking so far.
“Markus Sturm considers 100 days far too short to assess the Lord Mayor critically – but apparently long enough to declare those same 100 days a success story,” says FDP group chairman Prof. Dr. Holm Putzke. “His thin-skinned reaction shows one thing above all: our criticism hit the bullseye. The magic of the announced fresh start has worn off.”
The way criticism is handled is also striking, according to the group. When Prof. Georg Steiner defended two FDP motions in the economic committee, Rother raised his voice and scented “self-promotion”. Now it is not the Lord Mayor himself who responds to the public 100-day criticism, but his group chairman, with personal jibes. “When things get politically uncomfortable, Andreas Rother either gets loud or leaves Markus Sturm to lead the counter-attack. That is not what composure looks like,” says Putzke. Deputy group chairman Prof. Georg Steiner adds: “Of all people, Markus Sturm defends the supposedly new style with a sledgehammer and in the same old tone.”
Broken promise on youth participation
Sturm’s claim that the FDP wanted to “impose” a youth council on young people is particularly absurd, the group says. Pupil representatives from several Passau schools had publicly called for an institutional youth representation even before the local elections; a survey of around 500 young people, organised by young people themselves, found that more than two thirds were in favour of a youth parliament. Rother himself campaigned for a youth parliament in an election advert shortly before Christmas 2025. Since the election, instead of an independent, elected body, various forms of participation are first to be examined – according to the city, a youth parliament or youth council is expressly not the focus.
“Sturm’s argument is a perfidious reversal of the facts,” explains city councillor Sebastian Frankenberger. “First a clearly expressed wish of young people is ignored, then it is claimed that they still need to be asked. The young people have long since spoken.” Of course they should have a say in how it is designed; but developing the “how” with them is something different from putting the promised “whether” back up for debate. The criticism is expressly not directed at Johanna Seitz: a youth policy spokesperson can be useful, but cannot replace a democratically legitimised body. “Anyone who promises a youth parliament before the election and offers a project group and a spokesperson appointed by the city council after the election is breaking their election promise,” says Frankenberger.
Rejected motion, praised result
On economic policy, too, Sturm misses the core of the criticism, according to the group. The FDP group had presented a detailed concept for a central point of contact for businesses and founders and for active funding management – including binding response deadlines, digital tracking, staffing and cost planning and measurable targets. It was rejected on the flimsy grounds that the administration was already doing this anyway. Now Sturm, of all people, is praising the dedicated contact person for businesses – in other words, an essential part of the rejected FDP motion. “First a comprehensively worked-out motion is rejected because the administration is supposedly already doing everything anyway. A few weeks later, the SPD sells the same approach as a success for the Lord Mayor,” criticises Steiner. “Apparently, in this town hall an idea only counts as good if it comes from the right side. That is not composure, but a narrow-minded circle-the-wagons mentality.”
No cross-group exchange according to a script
The FDP group also rejects Sturm’s claim that it has no interest in an exchange between the groups. The meetings he refers to are not convened by the Lord Mayor but by the SPD group chairman – and not all elected groups are involved; the AfD remains excluded. “A genuine cross-group exchange would have to come from the Lord Mayor and include all elected groups,” Putzke makes clear. “The city council is not a discussion circle curated by Markus Sturm. Anyone who issues the invitations themselves, excludes an elected group and then admonishes the others to work together constructively is confusing democratic exchange with political stage management – regardless of where one stands on the AfD in terms of content.”
Steiner sums up the record so far: “A mobility analysis is not yet a transport policy. A new responsibility in the town hall is not yet an economic strategy. A project group is not yet genuine youth representation. And continuing projects from previous years is not yet a fresh start.” Passau is still suffering from the failings of 18 years under Jürgen Dupper, he says; Rother must show that he is more than a continuation of this course with a new face.
“Nobody is asking for miracles in 100 days,” Putzke stresses in conclusion. “But the people of Passau are still stuck in traffic jams, there is no convincing transport concept in sight, and in view of the tight budget situation, there are still no concrete savings proposals on the table. We support sensible projects. But we will not remain silent when election promises are broken, good motions are swept aside because they come from the wrong sender, elected groups are excluded and objective criticism is answered with personal jibes. Anyone who promises a new style must also practise it.”
The post Nur der Ton ist neu, nicht die Politik first appeared on FDP Fraktion | TEAM Putzke.