Tübingen mayor Boris Palmer pauses public appearances amid sexual harassment probe

Palmer steps back from public appearances

Tübingen mayor Boris Palmer will no longer take part in public appearances for as long as prosecutors investigate allegations of sexual harassment against him. He announced the step in a statement on Tuesday evening, 10 November, after members of several council factions asked him to suspend his public appearances. Palmer wrote that he would limit himself to running the city's administrative business and would not attend public appearances with a political or representative character. He said he complied with the request in the interest of trusting cooperation with the council.

“In the interest of a trusting cooperation with the city council, I am complying with this request.”

The allegations and the investigation

The allegations were posted on Instagram last week, on an account attributed to a former female member of the Tübingen council. According to that post, as reported by Spiegel Online, Palmer allegedly touched her breasts against her explicitly stated will and without asking her. Palmer rejects the allegations sharply and told dpa that he will cooperate fully with prosecutors to clarify the matter. The Tübingen public prosecutor's office is examining the initial suspicion of a criminal offence and must investigate the matter ex officio. The presumption of innocence applies, and the allegations have not been confirmed.

Council pressure goes beyond the criminal probe

On Wednesday, 11 November, 22 councillors from the Alternative Liste/Grüne, SPD, Linke and Klimaliste issued a joint statement, more than half of the council's members. They argue that the allegations are serious regardless of any criminal assessment, because the mayor holds a role-model position. The signatories ask him to let the representation of the city rest, to avoid official appearances with external effect, and not to chair public council or committee sessions. Their statement does not demand resignation, and it warns against both trivializing the allegations and pre-judging them legally. Florian Zarnetta, the SPD group leader on the council, told SWR that the council wants to see willingness to clarify questions that lie beyond the prosecutors' investigation.

Open questions and next steps

The council's Ältestenrat, a body of senior members, has dealt with the case. Palmer sent his statement to the council as well, saying that if his attendance at public council sessions is seen as necessary, he is ready to attend at any time. The next council meeting is on Monday, 16 November, and as of Wednesday no request for his attendance had been made. A planned evening discussion in Tübingen with former Welt publisher Ulf Poschardt, on the theme of free speech and conformist pressure in public debate, has been called off. The statements do not set out which open questions beyond the criminal investigation the council wants answered.