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No Co-Determination and Citizen Participation in the Structural Transformation of BurgenlandkreisStructural transformation – this word reliably makes the hearts of many regional politicians beat faster. As soon as the term is mentioned, it sounds like progress, future, and innovation. 
Above all, however, it sounds like funding. Lots of funding. Money that is supposedly meant to “transform structures” – which in practice often means destroying structures that, on one hand, have grown over decades and, on the other hand, have slowly decayed over just as many decades. Of course, politicians emphasize at every opportunity how important citizen participation is. Structural transformation must be shaped together, they say. Politics and citizens – hand in hand for the region's future. A beautiful picture. Unfortunately, one that has surprisingly little to do with reality in Burgenlandkreis. After all, structural transformation is not a project that emerged from the region itself. It is a political megaproject imposed from above. The background is the large national and international climate policy in which Germany is supposed to contribute – even if, from a global perspective, this affects about 0.2 ppm CO₂ in the atmosphere (0.2 CO₂ molecules within a million air molecules). For this symbolic figure, entire regions are being rebuilt, industries dismantled, and ways of life “reorganized.” Citizen Participation in the Sense of “Shut Up and Listen”Yet if an entire region is to be transformed, one might expect that local people would at least be allowed a little say.Anyone who takes a look at the meeting calendar of the Burgenlandkreis district council in the council information system will be in for a small surprise. In the committee meetings of the district council, there are normally citizen question periods. Citizens can ask questions, voice criticism, or present concerns. An element of democratic participation, one might think. But: In the committee meetings on structural transformation, these citizen question periods are simply missing. They are not on the agenda. The meetings are public – so you may listen. But asking questions is not allowed. Citizen participation in the sense of “shut up and listen.” One might argue: Then you can just ask your questions in the district council itself. That also sounds plausible at first. Yet here too it quickly becomes clear how limited the actual scope really is. Citizen questions in the district council are only permitted if they do not relate to items on the agenda. In other words, exactly the topics being discussed and decided upon are off-limits for citizen questions. There is also another restriction: usually, each citizen is allowed only a single question per meeting. A remarkably efficient method to keep participation manageable. One might almost think that these rules were not set by the district council by accident. After all, it is conceivable that critical questions just before a vote could make some council members think – or even change their minds. And who wants democratic decision-making processes to be disrupted by uncomfortable citizen questions? Of course, there are events on structural transformation. Information evenings, dialogue formats, workshops. But anyone who looks closely will quickly recognize their nature: they are mostly informal. You may listen, discuss, maybe even share ideas. But very little of it is binding. The actual decisions are made elsewhere – in committees where citizens may be present, but only as spectators. This creates a peculiar picture: a structural transformation that is supposedly to be shaped together with the people is in fact carried out without any real opportunities for citizen participation. Transparency exists – at least you may watch. Co-determination, on the other hand, remains surprisingly limited. This is the style of citizen participation: people are informed about what has already been decided – and it is then called dialogue. Author: AI-Translation - АИИ | |
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