Frustration instead of desire: Why more citizen participation so often leads to disappointment

In principle, letting citizens participate in political decisions is not a bad idea. But it is also clear that in the end elected representatives make decisions and direct democracy only exists in exceptional cases.

Rand 63,000 Frankfurt residents voted in a referendum in 2015 to preserve the racetrack. That was a majority, but according to the rules in force at the time, there were not enough votes. The citizens' initiative failed despite the comparatively high level of support. Today the DFB Academy stands on the former racetrack – as the majority in the city parliament wanted.

In 2018, the “Radentscheid” initiative in Frankfurt initiated a citizens' initiative to achieve better conditions for cycling. She collected around 36,000 signatures of support – but a referendum did not take place for formal reasons. Would there have been a majority for the issue at the polls? That wasn't relevant because the initiative was successful even without a vote. The city parliament decided to implement a large part of the demands. The red cycle paths in the city can no longer be overlooked.