By Stephen Peter
Is this badly researched or simply manipulated? In a street survey conducted by ZDF, a cyclist has her say who is enthusiastic about the fact that Friedrichstrasse is closed to cars. The article does not mention that the woman is a cycling activist and a Green Party politician.
ZDF reporter Stefanie Hayn was in Friedrichstrasse for the program “Turntable” and allegedly found “great approval of the pedestrian street concept”.
A young woman named Marie Heidenreich, who happened to come along the way, is introduced. “It’s just incredibly quiet here, it’s totally beautiful with no traffic noise,” she enthuses into the camera. “It’s good to have an oasis here to breathe easy.”
Heidenreich wanted to move into the state parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for the Greens, and he also works for the party foundation Photo: ZDF
What the ZDF viewers don’t find out: Heidenreich is a Green politician! She stood for the eco-party in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the state elections, is a cycling activist and works for the Heinrich Böll Foundation of the Greens.
She sees it differently herself: “I don’t have a mandate and never had one,” Heidenreich told the BZ Whether ZDF was aware of her involvement with the Greens – Heidenreich did not answer this question. ZDF did not respond to a request from BZ
The action alliance “Save Friedrichstrasse” delivered new figures on Thursday: Compared to 2019, there was a 31 percent drop in visitor frequency in December 2022, as a result of the long closure. After the brief opening, there was a significant upswing in January.
Christian Gräff (44, CDU) on the initiative’s study: “The figures show that the green traffic test is fatal for business.”
FDP faction leader Sebastian Czaja (39) on the BZ: “Unfortunately, Bettina Jarasch seems to be completely irrelevant to the facts. It’s about pushing your green worldview through and regardless of the losses.”