Questions & Answers Date: August 12, 2024. Authors: Folkert Lenz
Image: dpa | Mohssen Assanimoghaddam
This only happens every few years: Education Senator Aulepp (SPD) has to face a motion of no confidence in the state parliament this morning. The CDU wants to have her voted out of office.
Why does the CDU want to throw Sascha Aulepp (SPD) out of office?
First and foremost because the Senator for Education and Children unexpectedly imposed a budget freeze in her department during the summer holidays. And that was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back for the CDU. At least that’s what parliamentary group leader Frank Imhoff says.
The Union also accuses Aulepp of not having enough teachers in Bremen schools at the start of the school year. To put it in context: there are 75 teachers missing out of 4,300 positions. And that 1,300 children are not getting a place in daycare, even though they are entitled to one. For the CDU, this is also proof that the education senator is not capable of doing it. That is why the Union now wants to throw Aulepp out of office.
What was the background to the budget freeze?
In July, the education department found that 150 million euros could be short at the end of the year and therefore pulled the ripcord and imposed a spending freeze. That can be done when a surprising financial hole appears. Critics, however, think that this is absurd when the budget was only approved a month ago. The shortfall is now said to have shrunk to 45 million euros after experts from the finance department took a closer look at the figures. They also apparently discovered free funds.
But what is the truth behind the CDU’s accusations?
The lack of teachers and daycare places cannot be argued away. The Senator for Education cannot conjure up teachers or childcare staff. The financial problems are a different matter.
Budget planning is the responsibility of the department. And something has obviously gone seriously wrong. It is known that the Aulepp department underestimated the heating costs for the schools by a few hundred thousand euros. According to buten-un-binnen research, this could possibly be the case with some rental and lease agreements for buildings. In this case, there were probably incorrect and double bookings. And not only were the costs miscalculated in many places, but also on the credit side.
That is why the CDU wants to know exactly where and what went wrong from education in the budget and finance committee of the state parliament on Friday.
What are the chances that the vote of no confidence against Aulepp will pass?
Of course, anything is possible. But in the red-green-red coalition, no one seems to have a real interest in ousting the SPD senator. But the truth is that not everyone in the SPD, the Greens and the Left are happy with the education department’s financial management. Because the vote on the motion of no confidence is being held in secret, there could be dissenters.
But there can’t be too many. In the 87-member parliament, the governing parties, with 48 seats, only have a majority of four votes over the opposition. The FDP and Alliance Germany also want to vote with the CDU and thus against Aulepp. That’s why everyone will probably pull themselves together in the case of a red-green-red coalition.
A look at history: This is not the first motion of no confidence against a member of the Senate in Bremen. How have the previous ones turned out?
This motion of no confidence is the 23rd in the history of the Bremen Parliament. Only one vote of no confidence has been successful since 1946. That was in 1995 against the then Green Party Senator for the Environment Ralf Fücks in the so-called Piepmatz affair.
Others have preempted their deselection. For example, Bernd Meyer or Senator Karin Röpke, who both resigned before a vote. Let’s assume: If the motion against Aulepp were to pass, the senator would have to resign as soon as parliament appoints a new department head.
More on the topic of school:
This topic in the program:
buten un binnen, August 10, 2024, 7:30 p.m.
