The news that Michael Schumacher will not be named an honorary citizen of his hometown of Kerpen has gone around the world.
But in Ralph's words (“This is typical Germany and our politics”) and in the “almost apologies” of Mayor Dieter Spürck (he said he understood Ralf's anger because Schumacher made the name of the city famous in the world) there 'It's all the iron German logic of the rules.
Translated: everyone in Kerpen would have liked to give Schumi honorary citizenship but in that small town there is no “procedure”, a regulation that defines when and how one becomes an honorary citizen. So nothing. First the rules, then the logic: “in the city there are currently more important things to deal with – here is the official motivation verbatim – than the drafting of this regulation” and unanimously CDU, SPD, Verdi, FDP, BBK (l 'AfD was not present in the courtroom), they said no.
This reminded me of a recent discussion I had with a colleague from Bild-Zeitung about the new highway code: I asked him what the penalties were in Germany for driving without a license. He looked at me astonished and suddenly replied: “But you can't drive without a license!”. And, to my repeated requests and (vain) attempts at explanation, he had always responded in the same way, almost incredulous at my crazy insistence on the question: “You can't drive without a license”.
Does the rule say that you need a license to drive? So you can't drive without a license. A wall. There is no discussion.
So with the same iron logic in Kerpen they consulted the municipal regulation. They didn't find the rule on how to make an honorary citizen and therefore they decided that you can't give that honor to anyone. Unless, of course, the rule is made first. But there is no time to make the rule. So without rules, no honor.
Who knows, maybe the Bild-Zeitung colleague is from Kerpen. You cannot drive without a license. Without municipal regulations Schumi cannot be made an honorary citizen. It all comes back…
