Potsdam, Lord Mayor Mike Schubert, City Hall Press Officer Mike Brunzlow and 55 euros for three minutes

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Potsdam, Lord Mayor Mike Schubert, City Hall Press Officer Mike Brunzlow and 55 euros for three minutes

AUTOMOTIVE 21.07.2022

Potsdam, Lord Mayor Mike Schubert, City Hall Press Officer Mike Brunzlow and 55 euros for three minutes

The press often reports on blatant incompetence, scandals in public authorities and a whinnying trotting horse of an officialdom. These reports are often for the benefit and advantage of the general public.
 The Brandenburg Press Law (Brandenburgisches Landespressegesetz - BbgPG), of 13 May 1993, states under paragraph 3 on the subject: Public task of the press: "The press fulfils a public task in particular by procuring and disseminating news, commenting, criticising or otherwise contributing to the free formation of individual and public opinion. In this respect, it fundamentally protects legitimate interests within the meaning of section 193 of the Criminal Code."

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Potsdam, the capital of Brandenburg, has 183,154 inhabitants (as of December 2021) as well as 16 impressive castles, palaces and magnificent buildings. To see these magnificent castles, tourists have to park their cars and buses in the city. 
Since November 2021, Mike Schubert (SPD) has been the mayor of Potsdam and receives 10,786.67 euros per month (grade B7) from the citizens, plus any reimbursement of travel expenses and a company car, whereby Potsdam citizens claim to have seen Mayor Mike Schubert, even in times of inflation, with the accompanying increase in petrol and diesel prices, most recently in a luxury Audi A8 limousine, complete with chauffeur. (Source: https://www.gehaltsvergleich.com/news/was-verdient-eigentlich-ein-buergermeister)
In a forthcoming article, we will look in more detail at the use of a company car by Lord Mayor Mike Schubert, inflation and private use of company cars.

The current topic is a possible parking violation, which can quickly cost 55.00 euros in the state capital Potsdam, as our cover photo shows.
But what is the difference between stopping and parking? A stop is an intentional interruption of the journey that is not caused by the traffic situation or an order. On the other hand, anyone who leaves their vehicle without the possibility of immediately intervening and driving away, or who stops for longer than three minutes, is parking. Anyone parking on a footpath or cycle path is liable to a fine of 55.00 euros.
Considering that the employee of the department 3211 (working group inspection field service) of the state capital Potsdam even wrote down the valve positions, one asks oneself, was it now stopping or parking? After our inspection of the alleged scene of the crime, the diligent employee of the city's Inspectorate Field Service should certainly have seen the vehicle driver, because the recording and noting of the valve positions cannot be done in a few seconds, and whether a "parking" of only "three minutes" is actually a "parking" and not a stop is clearly described in the catalogue of fines...

The announcement of our press article on this topic called the acting head of the press office of the state capital Jan Brunzlow onto the scene, who wrote to us yesterday, Wednesday, 20 July 2022 at 17:38: "It is regrettable that you or journalists from your editorial office repeatedly do not simply describe the facts of the matter to us and make a journalistic enquiry, as serious media would do, to which we can respond accordingly, as prescribed by the journalistic duty of care according to the press code."
Mr Jan Brunzlow could have asked a Potsdam regional newspaper he is well acquainted with that this is not even remotely word for word in the press code (which is not a law, but merely a casual guideline). Mr Brunzlow should also have good contacts in the legal profession (RENO), whereby the "assessment" in the aforementioned e-mail of the acting head of the press office of the state capital Potsdam, Jan Brunzlow, as a press representative of the state capital Potsdam, seems at all questionable. (Source: https://www.presserat.de/pressekodex.html)

The aforementioned e-mail from the acting head of the press and communications department of the state capital, Jan Brunzlow, is moreover surprising, because in relation to a scandal involving a severely disabled toddler with care level 5, one has not heard much about press articles in the past, whereby we recall this scandal here: https://www.BerlinerTageszeitung.de/politik/89529-mike-schubert-brigitte-meier-ursula-nonnenmacher-oder-der-skandal-in-potsdam-um-ein-schwerbehindertes-kleinkind-und-seinen-kita-platz-2.html.

As far as the media are concerned, it must be stated at this point that the media landscape in the Federal Republic of Germany has changed massively! Today, the counterpart to the printed newspaper made of environmentally harmful paper is the internet presence, the mobile offer, online newspapers or the presence in the social web.
In 2012, the circulation of printed daily newspapers in Germany was significantly higher than today. In 2021, statistics predicted that 11 million printed newspapers would still be sold in 2022 - and that would be the end in 2034. From today's perspective, the result for printed newspapers is even more disastrous, because according to current calculations by journalists, the last printed daily newspaper will already be published in 2033, which would be in 11 years.
At this point, a quaint saying comes to mind: "Printed newspapers are yesterday's news".

Inflationary pressure is rising. In Germany, many people are worried that they will be able to afford less and less; in June 2022, the inflation rate was a staggering +7.6 per cent, according to the Federal Statistical Office. A fine of 55.00 euros for allegedly parking in the wrong place seems to have come at the right time for the public purse. Whether it is justified in the city of Potsdam, in the area of responsibility of Lord Mayor Mike Schubert (SPD), must at least be questioned with regard to the catalogue of fines, whether 55.00 euros would be a lot for Mike Schubert with a monthly salary of 10,786.67 euros, the reader can decide for himself...

Soon we will report in a series of 10 (ten) press articles on Potsdam construction sites, blocked roads, municipal maintenance backlogs, the private use of official cars, acting heads and their journalistic history including the resulting contacts with the regional press, rents in Potsdam, waiting times for the granting of residence permits in Potsdam - for Ukrainian refugees and, of course, Potsdam as a city of culture and its promotion. (P.Vasilyevsky--DTZ)

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Deutsche Tageszeitung - Potsdam, Lord Mayor Mike Schubert, City Hall Press Officer Mike Brunzlow and 55 euros for three minutes