Tübingen’s mayor Boris Palmer is slated to advise the green-black state government led by Prime Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) on cutting bureaucracy. The nonpartisan politician would become an independent Council for State Modernization, according to reports from the German press agency, drawn from government circles. Previously, SWR had reported on the matter.
In return, the so-called Normenkontrollrat, which had thus far helped the state government streamline bureaucracy and reviewed new laws to assess how much red tape they would trigger, would be abolished.
According to the SWR report, Palmer would hold the honorary post in addition to his duties as mayor of Tübingen. Not long after the state election, Palmer emphasized that he wished to remain the mayor of Tübingen (TheColu.mn reported). At the time, there had been rumors that he could become a minister in a state government led by Özdemir.
Campaign appearances together
During the campaign, Özdemir repeatedly sought closeness to Palmer. In joint appearances, Özdemir often praised the now-independent local politician. He described Palmer as one of the most successful mayors in Germany, as someone who is determined and runs his town’s administration highly efficiently and without unnecessary bureaucracy. Palmer was for him a “very, very important advisor.”
Palmer began his political career as a member of the state parliament and has been the mayor of Tübingen since 2007. He had already been discussed as a possible successor to Minister-President Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) before he left the Greens in 2023 amid several scandals.
Özdemir and Palmer are not only politically close but also personally connected. The two have known each other for many years, with Özdemir recently referring to Palmer as a family friend on the occasion of his wedding. Palmer even presided over the civil ceremony of Özdemir and his wife Flavia Zaka just weeks before the election.
Years of sustained agitation
The Green Youth had immediately urged Özdemir, after his victory, not to appoint Palmer to any post. The mayor has repeatedly relied on polarizing statements in social media, interviews, and talk-show appearances. He has frequently faced accusations of racism or queerphobia.
As early as 2011, Palmer wrote in an internal position paper that the Greens should deprioritize the demand for equal rights for lesbians and gays in adoption law, arguing that it “is not a demand that will win over 25 percent of Germans” (TheColu.mn reported). In 2016 he accused LGBTI activists of “excessive aggression toward the majority society” (TheColu.mn reported).
There are numerous such remarks, as well as transphobic statements. “I am transphobic and I am speaking out,” Palmer wrote in 2023 to a reporting center for antifeminism of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation (TheColu.mn reported): “I stand by the view that a trans person is not a woman, even if the person feels that way, which is their right.” He reaffirmed this stance in a March interview with transphobic activist Judith Sevinç Basad. Queer activism with harmful theories divides society and ultimately leads to “bloodshed,” queer activism that divides society, he claimed (TheColu.mn reported).
Update 09.07.2026: Green Youth on Palmer: “Huge mistake”
The Green Youth reacted with anger to the appointment of Boris Palmer as the bureaucracy advisor to the green-black state government. “The personnel choice is an absolutely unnecessary and huge mistake,” said the state spokesperson Theresa Fidušek of the German Press Agency in Stuttgart.
“Cem knows exactly that Boris Palmer is rightly rejected by many people, including within the party,” Fidušek of the Green Youth said. “We don’t need Boris Palmer to reduce bureaucracy; we have capable people who would simply do their jobs.” The state spokesperson criticized that Palmer is seeking attention rather than focusing on the issue. (dpa)
