By Hans Wilhelm Saure
The Tegeler Forst extends over 2169 hectares in the north-west of the city and is a popular place of rest and relaxation for Berliners. But now there is a mighty crash in the undergrowth.
Karl-Heinz Marx (65), who was head of the Tegel forestry office until the turn of the year, is complaining to the administrative court about his retirement and wants to continue working.
According to BZ information, this would give him a noticeably higher pension entitlement after six months. And there is a suspicion of red felt in the green forest. Karl-Heinz Marx has been a member of the SPD for 26 years.
On New Year’s Eve, after 19 years as head of the Tegel forestry office, he filed an urgent lawsuit against the Senate Department for the Environment and Climate Protection.
“The plaintiff’s lawsuit challenges the fact that his application to postpone his retirement was denied. On the other hand, he wants to ensure that his service authority agrees to the transfer to another Senate administration,” said a spokeswoman for the administrative court.
The forest office Tegel in Berlin Photo: Christian Lohse
First, Marx had applied for an extension of his term as head of the Tegel forestry office, which was rejected by the Senate Department for the Environment under the Green Senator Bettina Jarasch.
Exactly at that moment presented the led by the SPD Senate Department for Building urgent need for staff from January 1st. And the requirements in a newly established “Climate Office” are tailor-made for the long-standing party friend and head of office.
His curious task: Advisor in the “particular current challenge in the subject of timber construction in residential construction,” according to the spokesman for the building senator. Appropriately limited to an initial period of six months.
Karl-Heinz Marx on BZ: “It’s not about closing a supply gap that, in my opinion, doesn’t even exist. For me, it’s about responsibility and technical expertise for forestry activities.”
The Senate Department for the Environment sees things differently and did not agree to the transfer. Christian Gaebler (58, SPD), State Secretary for Building and Housing, personally requested the previous head of the forestry office to act as a wood expert in a letter he signed.
A service of friendship among comrades?
Gaebler and Marx are not just friends of the party, and in 2015 they took interested parties to an SPD district day through the Tegel Forest. From 2011 to 2016, Christian Gaebler was also State Secretary in the Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment, Marx’s top service authority.
As head of the forestry office, he organized the traditional Sauvesper for the authority – a hearty get-together in the Tegel Forest, which was particularly popular with Senator Geisel.
“Mr. Marx is not an ‘old acquaintance’ of the state secretary, there were only official reasons for the considerations described,” the spokesman for the building senate administration rejects any suspicion.
On the other hand, Robert Schaddach (56), SPD member of the House of Representatives, shows open social democratic solidarity with Marx. “I stood up for Mr. Marx. It’s good if someone wants to work longer.”