No citizen participation in Western Pomerania: SPD fights for co-determination!

No citizen participation in Western Pomerania: SPD fights for co-determination!

The discussion about citizen participation in Western Pomerania-Greifswald has gained momentum in the last few days. The SPD parliamentary group in the district council expressed sharp criticism of the rejection of their application to create a citizens' council. The application, the aim of which was to bring together a few randomly selected residents from the entire district, fell victim to the rejection vote by the CDU and AfD and is seen by the Social Democrats as a missed opportunity to involve citizens in important decisions at an early stage.

In particular, Erik von Malottki, who fought with great commitment against the incumbent Michael Sack for the district office in the spring, has campaigned on this issue. The citizens' assembly should develop recommendations on relevant topics such as medical care, local public transport and climate issues. Even if the resolutions were not binding, according to von Malottki, they could have provided valuable impetus for politics. “A citizens’ assembly does not take away anyone’s power; it brings experiences and ideas into the political discussion,” he believes.

The path to citizen participation

The concept of citizen participation is not new, but is enjoying increasing popularity in Germany and Austria. Over the last two decades, various models have been tried to involve citizens in decision-making processes. Numerous municipalities already have formats that allow citizens to actively participate. However, many cities are still in the development process in this regard, and the design of the procedures varies greatly.

The SPD is now planning to pursue the issue outside of the district council. A citizens' petition with the aim of collecting around 4,000 signatures is intended to work towards the introduction of a citizens' council. This shows that the political landscape is lively and the demand for more citizen participation is finding more and more supporters. Various studies, such as those by lpb-bw, have shown that citizen participation is a complex concept that includes both formal and informal co-determination approaches.

Criticism and perspectives

The SPD sees the rejection of their application not only as a step backwards, but also as these strange signals from Inken Arndt, the former AfD district council candidate, who commented positively on citizens' councils before the elections. Your vote, together with that of incumbent Sack against the motion, shows the tricky situation and the challenges that need to be overcome. There are different perspectives within the parties about the importance of citizen participation.

In line with the experiences of recent years, developments show that citizens are increasingly willing to become more involved in the political process. This is not only the case in Western Pomerania-Greifswald, but is a trend that can be observed in many municipalities. Various initiatives and citizens' councils have been formed throughout Germany to address the question of how citizen participation can be meaningfully organized.

In summary, it can be seen that the path to establishing real citizen participation is often paved with resistance and challenges. Nevertheless, the hope remains that initiatives like those of the SPD in Western Pomerania-Greifswald will lead to a more active involvement of citizens in political decisions in the long term. Especially today, the need for closer cooperation between politics and citizens is greater than ever. Wikipedia also sees citizen participation as an important pillar of modern democracy that needs to be promoted.