Hannover’s mayor Belit Onay has a vision: the Lower Saxony state capital, rebuilt after the Second World War by the influential city planning officer Rudolf Hillebrecht as a prototype of the “car-friendly city”, should become “almost car-free” in the future. However, the Green politician’s plan has now suffered a severe setback: the SPD terminated the red-green coalition in the city council on Monday because it no longer wants to support the transport policy of Onay, who was elected at the end of 2019. This bang not only shook the town hall, but could also have a ripple effect beyond that.
Because Onay has probably been the best-known local politician in the Green Party since Tübingen Mayor Boris Palmer left the party; He has already inherited his legacy on the talk shows. Onay, however, represents a significantly different profile. While Palmer was considered the top realo and liked to toe the party line, especially on migration issues, Onay relies on pragmatic progressiveness. Under his aegis, the state capital of Lower Saxony was to be transformed into a kind of German Copenhagen: cosmopolitan, a little alternative, a little innovative, plus lots of cyclists and newly planted trees. With this mix, Onay, unlike Palmer, is also well received in his own party, as was demonstrated by his election to the party council at the weekend.
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