Christian Ude turns 75. In the big Merkur interview, the former mayor criticizes mistakes made by the Bavarian SPD – and reports on his life after politics.
Munich – On Wednesday (October 26), former mayor Christian Ude (SPD) will celebrate his 75th birthday. In conversation with the Munich Mercury the celebrant gives insights into his private life, talks about everyday conversations with citizens and his quarrels with the SPD. Ude welcomes us in his living room at Kaiserplatz in Schwabing. There where his heart beats. The initials CU are sewn into his shirt. In the den of the red lion (Ude sympathizes with TSV 1860) you can have a wonderful chat.
Ude in an interview: SPD-Alt-OB now gets up late – “with a clear conscience”
Münchner Merkur: Mr. Ude, during your time as mayor, your staff tried to avoid appointments that were too early. The boss likes to sleep in, it was said before. Are you getting out of bed earlier today?
Christian Ude: No. Rather later, but with a wonderfully good conscience, because I haven’t missed anything yet.
Is there a fixed ritual?
Actually, for two decades, the day started with the cat waking me up and having to jump up to feed it. But the cat unfortunately died this summer. At the moment we don’t have any. But we will get another one, probably from the animal shelter. Now, the first thing I do is make a really gorgeous breakfast for my wife and I: Greek yoghurt, each with five different types of fruit and honey. This is a nice way to start the day.
Ude reprimands Bayern-SPD for “own action” in the 2018 crash: “Culturally adopted by the regular audience”
With you as the top candidate, the SPD received 20.6 percent in the 2013 state elections. At the time, that was acceptable but not intoxicating, today it would put the Bavarian SPD in an intoxicating mood. How could the party sink so low?
The general weather situation has become more difficult. But the fact that the SPD was not even able to keep half of its voters in 2013 is not possible without their own help. It’s because they wanted to be the most progressive figure in one of the most conservative regions of Europe and culturally they’ve actually said goodbye to their regular audience.
It’s about more and more words that you can’t pronounce anymore, and more and more asterisks that you have to make. But also about the milieu in which one moves. Every summer I’ve been to dozens of allotment gardens, to people wearing traditional costumes and riflemen, I’ve been through the police stations and fire stations, I’ve been to pensioners’ ceremonies and old people’s service centers, because they all belong to the potential Social Democratic voters. The SPD is no longer in contact with the former core electorate.
After all, there is now an SPD chancellor again. Did you expect this?
I always thought of Olaf Scholz as a political talent, even in the year when it was downright forbidden in the SPD. But I was pleasantly surprised that we managed to score points so quickly at the end of Merkel’s period due to the Union’s weakness.
How is Scholz doing as chancellor?
Like the general public, by the way, I am much happier with him than many of the media.
SPD Alt-OB Ude feels sorry for politics – pandemic and war did not exist before
You tend to hold back with good advice on current Munich local politics. Is that difficult sometimes?
It is due to the change in circumstances. I had never had to endure a pandemic, never a war that could spread to all of Europe, never a comparable energy crisis or inflation of this magnitude. You shouldn’t play the smart guy in the visitors’ gallery. On the high-rise question, however, I am surprised that just 16 years ago individual towers on the other side of the Mittlerer Ring posed a problem that really split the SPD at the time, while today much more powerful monsters are even allowed to appear in masses without any substantive discussion – and that very close to the main train station, in the heart of the city.
In view of these challenges, do you feel sorry for your successor?
Yes. With everyone who is responsible today. I’m a post-war child. My generation has lived a privileged life. It was sparse at first, but you always had the certainty that everything will be a little bit better next year. This way of life no longer exists. People ask themselves today whether they have to freeze in winter, how long they can afford groceries of a more sophisticated kind, whether they will still be able to pay the rent and, above all, the utilities tomorrow. These are existential concerns, and then there are the even more fundamental issues like pandemics and war. None of this happened before the end of my term.
Where do you see the differences between the red-green government under your term in office and the current one? Apart from the fact that the Greens are now the stronger party?
But the latter is an important point. The SPD is number three in Munich. Number three! And she never openly discussed the loss of voice that led to this, never saw it as a major problem. First the CSU marched past, then they formed a coalition with the CSU. And then the Greens marched past, and then it was again possible to form a coalition with the Greens. It is a serious change that the loss of importance of social democracy has assumed such proportions.
Ude: “Most of all, people have questions, not accusations”
When the pensioner Christian Ude walks through Munich today, is he still often approached and stopped by passers-by?
This has actually increased because people now assume that I have time (laughs) – whereas they used to walk by with a respectful “Hello, Lord Mayor”. Now it says: “What do you say about the Lauterbach? And do you think Scholz is doing well?” Above all, people have questions, not accusations.
What do you hear most often?
2020 and 2021 was almost always about the pandemic and the measures against it. Of course, since February 24, the Ukraine war has been the main topic. Some are still pacifist and annoyed with the Olive Greens, who are suddenly acting as if they only had problems with the Bundeswehr and the armaments industry because not enough weapons are produced there. The criticism hit Gerhard Schröder the hardest. But misjudgments in Russia policy were widespread. I’ll freely admit that I was also in favor of Nord Stream 2 until earlier this year. But how the Christian Union lies out of history and out of responsibility is breathtaking.
Can it sometimes become annoying when you are spoken to?
No, now less than ever, because I like to exchange ideas. These are very pleasant conversations. This used to be more aggressive when I was held solely responsible for all decisions in the city council. And for every administrative act, from the police ticket to the refusal of permits.
Interview: Klaus Vick, Peter T. Schmidt
From Schwabinger Kindl to mayor
Christian Ude was born on October 26, 1947 in Munich. He grew up in Schwabing and did his Abitur at the Oskar-von-Miller-Gymnasium. After that, Ude started a career in journalism before studying law and becoming a lawyer. Ude joined the SPD in 1966 as a high school student. His political role model is Willy Brandt. In 1993 Ude was mayor and re-elected three times. In 2014 he was no longer able to compete due to age reasons. Ude is considered an eloquent man who also works as an author and cabaret artist. In 1983 he married Edith von Welser, an SPD city councilor in Munich who was eight years his senior, and they brought six children into the marriage.
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