Raschen: Bremerhaven needs courage, not empty words from the SPD!

Raschen: Bremerhaven needs courage, not empty words from the SPD!

Things are boiling in Bremerhaven and the waves are rising after the Bremen Senate rejected the city's budget plan. This decision came precisely during Sail 2025, an event that normally brings joy and celebration, but instead tempers are heated. Thorsten Raschen, MP from Bremerhaven and deputy state chairman of the CDU Bremen, expresses clear criticism of the SPD Bremerhaven and its handling of the situation. He calls on the comrades to finally show some backbone and not to settle for “consolation”. “Words of conciliation are useless,” says Raschen, as long as the Senate treats Bremerhaven like a “household student” – a clear message that cannot be ignored.

The background to the rejection is sobering: In a British Vorarlberg youth story, there is a million-dollar hole in the budget that violates the legal debt brake. “We need a clear course here, not diplomatic attempts,” Raschen continued. Sönke Allers, SPD parliamentary group leader, also thinks that further negotiations with the Bremen Senate are unavoidable. The criticism from Bremerhaven is loud and clear: the city treasurer and the government coalition are astonished by the Senate's decision.

React quickly for the city

Heiko Strohmann, state chairman of the CDU Bremen, agrees with Raschen and emphasizes that Bremerhaven needs respect and actual scope for action. Strohmann sees Bovenschulte's optimism as “politically transparent” and says that the city should no longer remain in the background. The Bremerhaven Greens go one step further and criticize the budget policy as a “disaster”. Parliamentary group leader Claudius Kaminiarz accuses the coalition of not living up to its responsibilities with its constant calls for money from Bremen.

A look at the numbers shows the whole dilemma: According to a Senate bill, the Bremerhaven budget was not approved this year for the first time since 1947. The shortfall amounts to up to 95 million euros - a sum that poses a serious threat to the city's financial flexibility. For many Bremerhaven citizens the question arises: What happens next?

Solidarity and responsibility

Emotions are simmering in the political landscape and calls for clarity and fair treatment are growing louder. Bernd Freemann from the FDP says that Bremerhaven has not managed wrongly, but is structurally underfinanced, which reveals the other side of the coin. The pressure on the SPD and the Senate is growing because the citizens of Bremerhaven also expect their politicians to stand up for their interests and stand up against unequal treatment.

How will the situation develop? The coming days and weeks will be crucial to see whether Bremerhaven's representatives have the courage to take a stand against the Senate's decisions and actually raise the city's voice. The ball is now in the court of politics and the eyes of citizens are on their representatives.

For further details about the events and reactions in Bremerhaven, read more on CDU Bremen as well as on buten and within.