Belit Onay: “I thought they were out there with hairpins and torches”

COrona caught Belit Onay early. In March, after just 100 days as mayor in Hannover, he became infected with Covid-19. Onay is the first green politician in the city council, which has always been dominated by the SPD, and he is also the first major mayor of Germany with Turkish roots.

WORLD: Mr. Onay, you were infected with the coronavirus early on. That was six months ago. You’re good?

Belit Onay: In the time that followed, I still had major problems with my condition. Once I climbed the stairs here at the city hall, it felt like a marathon. But there are no long-term consequences for me. Thank God.

WORLD: And how does your city survive the pandemic?

Confirmation: All of this is, of course, a great challenge for Hannover, as it is for all other cities. But the bottom line is that, especially when you compare it to big cities in other European countries, we can do quite well.

WORLD: Was there a time when you thought oh shit am I getting out of hand here now?

Confirmation: We have never had a real bottleneck in healthcare. However, at first we were very concerned. The postponement of the Hannover Fair, which was decided at the beginning of the pandemic, is already a turning point for a place like Hannover. After all, the fair and, to some extent, the city live off the fact that the world is a guest. No one knows when it will be possible again.

And it is not only about the fair itself, but also about everything that accompanies it. Gastronomy, hospitality, service providers. So from the beginning we were clear that Corona would keep us busy with its economic and social consequences for longer.

WORLD: In addition to the fair, tire company Continental, TUI and VW’s local plant in Hannover have come under considerable pressure from the pandemic. Many jobs will be lost. Almost nothing happens at the airport either. What awaits your city?

Confirmation: The crisis hits us hard, it will leave its mark. You just have to look at business tax income. They have massively collapsed in recent months. At the beginning of the year we expected 700 million euros. Meanwhile, we would be happy if it were 500 million. This will be partially offset by the federal government. Of course, we are very grateful for that, but it is only part of it.

WORLD: The focus of his election program was the conversion of Hannover city center into a car-free city with at least fewer cars. That was a year ago and at the end of an enduring phase of prosperity. Now people have completely different concerns. Are you sticking to your plans, which will also cost a lot of money?

Confirmation: Right now we have to tackle this. Corona is, as the Karstadt example shows, a fire accelerator for many problems that have existed before. For which we need urgent solutions. When converting the city center, the question is not how much traffic we need. But about the opportunities and the qualitative improvement of the city center as a whole. How can art and culture take up more space in central locations? How do we create more quality of stay and more living space? Without cars does not mean desert. On the contrary.

We want to make the city more attractive again, and that will also benefit retailers and businesses as a whole. If cities and municipalities have a chance in this crisis, it is through changes, improvements, quality. And that is only possible with investments. This is another reason why we need better funding for municipal budgets from the federal and state governments.

WORLD: Does that mean specifically?

Confirmation: That it is not possible in the long term, that – as before the crisis of the Crown – a great dance around the black zero takes place at the federal level, and at the same time many municipal budgets are going down the drain. We need new financial structures between the federal, state and local governments. In crisis situations in particular, it is clear that problems arise on site. And that solutions in situ, that is, at a specific local level, must be sought and found. And it just can’t be given abstractly from above, by the federal government or the state.

WORLD: At the beginning of his term he had to deal not only with Corona, but also with hateful messages, including a death threat from the so-called “NSU 2.0”. Do you keep getting emails like this?

Confirmation: Unfortunately yes. This has been going on since I was elected. There is a constant background noise that increases when I speak about certain triggers, for example about refugees. Extreme hatred.

WORLD: What was the worst for you?

Confirmation: The “NSU 2.0” death threat was particularly bad. It’s terrifying how much energy some people expend just to offend others.

WORLD: How do you deal with this hatred?

Confirmation: At first I was very upset. Immediately after my election, these messages hit digital channels almost every second. When I first had to walk out the door, two days after Sunday’s election, I thought, they’re out there with pitchforks and torches and they want to chase you around town.

But that was not the case. The sun was shining as always, and an old woman was standing at the traffic light who spoke to me and wished me all the best. Something like that feels good. Meanwhile, I have accepted it. I also don’t feel like retiring in any way because of that. We forward letters and emails containing such messages directly to the police.

WORLD: Last week, you and nine other mayors declared your willingness to receive more immigrants from Moria. How was the reaction there?

Confirmation: Again there were many negative reactions. However, and this is the good news, we receive even more letters offering help and support. On which our initiative was supported. I find that very encouraging.

WORLD: Do you understand the people who say on this subject that it was too much in 2015. Germany cannot rush back now?

Confirmation: I understand, of course, that nobody wants a repeat of the situation in 2015. Nobody wants that, not even the refugees. We need orderly structures, which is exactly what is currently not available in Greece. We have chaotic states when we just let things go.

Europe is strong enough to create such structures. By the way, Germany does not act alone. There are numerous states that are moving forward. And at the municipal level, too, we are in the process of sending a European signal after the German one.

WORLD: You run the city yourself here with the help of a traffic light coalition made up of the SPD, the Greens and the FDP. Can you recommend such an alliance?

Confirmation: That depends mainly on the content. Is it possible to reach a common denominator, a common vision? For a long time there was a red-green alliance in Hannover that made a big difference for the city. Now we have a traffic light, and from my point of view, it is going very well.

WORLD: Should the Greens send a candidate for chancellor in the race?

Confirmation: In any case, we have very good potential candidates for this.