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Digital city council meetings in Halle: progress or technical risk?
Halle (Saale) remains with face-to-face meetings: Main committee rejects hybrid city council meetings due to technical concerns.
Digital city council meetings in Halle: progress or technical risk?
In Halle (Saale) a significant step towards implementing hybrid city council meetings was abruptly rejected! The possibilities of the municipal constitution law in Saxony-Anhalt, which allows such meetings to be held, were not used. The main committee rejected the proposal from the Mitbürger / Volt faction with an overwhelming majority - only Friedemann Raabe from Volt voted for the proposal, while the other councilors were unanimously against it. This conjures up a telling picture: the progress of digitalization is being held in check by political concerns!
The opinions of the city councilors could not be further different. Friedemann Raabe emphasized that experimenting with hybrid meetings could be a fundamental way to facilitate the exercise of mandates. On the other hand, Carsten Heym from the AfD said that the idea was fundamentally positive, but that it was risky in today's situation of poor internet connection in some parts of the city. “We cannot do this in good conscience,” he warned.
Technical worries and personal contacts
The surprising statement by Katja Müller from the Left, who spoke out against digital avatars with a charming smile, caused laughter. Personal contact was too important to her - experiences from Thuringian ministerial work taught her that interpersonal exchange is essential. The shadows of the failed digital meeting during the Corona pandemic also hovered over the debate, as technical glitches determined the success on site.
Marco Schreyer from the Legal Office summed up the clear reality: technical inadequacies could result in decisions made being invalid. The exciting question remains: Will the city council lag behind in digitalization while technology continues to develop inexorably? To address the concerns, Raabe considered creating “hurdles” that would prevent city councilors from attending from the beach during their vacation – a notion that is causing amusement in the corridors of political power!