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Apologies after Zoff between Chamber of Commerce and Senator

First the outgoing syndic of the Bremen Chamber of Commerce dealt against Senator Maike Schaefer (Greens) – now he is rowing back. The Chamber of Commerce also apologizes.

The Bremen Chamber of Commerce on the market square

Now rowed back: The Chamber of Commerce and its outgoing syndic apologized to Environment Senator Maike Schaefer (Greens). (Symbol image)

Image: DPA | Thomas Robbin

The tatters flew on Monday. Shortly before his retirement, Andreas Otto accused the Bremen building authorities of “alternative facts”. He criticized the fact that it was difficult to come up with ideas and suggestions from the Chamber in the building department and – literally – “it is much easier to please your own clientele with alternative facts”. When asked about this formulation of buten un within, Otto admitted that he could also have written “untruths”, but found the formulation “alternative facts” to be “more elegant”. This argument alone brought the building authority up the tree. That is a “strange interpretation”, so the spokesman for the authority, Jens Tittmann.

Now the braking: Otto and the Chamber of Commerce apologized to Schaefer. Otto in writing, the Chamber of Commerce in a phone call from Managing Director Matthias Fonger.

The phone call between the Senator and Mr Fonger was a long and good conversation in which Mr Fonger made it clear that it was a purely private statement by Mr Otto.

Declaration by the Chamber of Commerce

The Chamber of Commerce distanced itself and did not share Otto’s statement in any way. Senator Schaefer announced that the matter was “thus settled for her”. Otto also apologized for his choice of words.

There are always differences between the Chamber of Commerce and the authorities

Otto’s criticism of Senator Schaefer was tough. He said she was faking things that weren’t right. Example: downtown summit. “As for our idea of ​​moving the tram out of Obernstrasse, Maike Schaefer said that it would not work because the bus stop there was the most frequented one,” said Otto. But that’s not true: “At Domsheide, Brill and Bahnhof, significantly more people get on and off.” The authority, however, holds that it was about the stop in Obernstrasse, where most of the people would get on and off. The numbers would come before the Bremer Straßenbahn AG (BSAG).

Otto complained that earlier – even with green senators like Reinhard Loske and Joachim Lohse – there had always been an attempt to “come to a common denominator”. This is no longer recognizable. To the incomprehension of Schaefer’s spokesman Tittmann, who was also a spokesman for Schaefer’s predecessor: “There was also a lot of logging,” he admits. And there have always been corresponding differences between the authorities and the Chamber of Commerce. “That is completely normal and it is no different with Ms. Schaefer than with her predecessors.”

More on the subject:

This topic in the program:
Bremen Eins, The Afternoon, December 28, 2020, 5:10 p.m.

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