New book by Boris Palmer: A Tübingen-style jolt

The nightjar is the new hermit beetle, and that's fine; the hermit beetle has had its moment in the spotlight. A good decade ago, the occasionally celebrity insect slowed down the construction of the Stuttgart 21 station project by apparently deliberately nesting in the very trees that were in the way of the railway's excavators. In its efforts to prevent the burial of Stuttgart Central Station, the nightjar had the powerful ally of Tübingen's mayor, Boris Palmer (then a Green Party member). While the nightjar now also poses as an infrastructure skeptic, it finds itself in a far more uncomfortable position: It has made Palmer its enemy.

In Palmer's new book, "Wir machen das jetzt!" (We're doing it now!), co-authored with fellow Tübingen -based celebrity emergency physician Lisa Federle , the nightjar becomes the emblem of the bureaucratic nonsense that paralyzes the country in many areas, as the Palmer/Federle duo convincingly demonstrates . Housing, climate protection, healthcare, transportation—pragmatism is sorely lacking everywhere. Palmer and Federle's defense of common sense is also a light workout for shoulder and neck pain: The entire time, readers, along with the authors, shake their heads.

In any case, there are only a few nightjars, a slightly reptilian-looking nightjar, in all of Baden-Württemberg . A few years ago, one of them, much to Palmer's displeasure, made itself at home on the roofs of Tübingen University Hospital: "a male who hadn't found a mate," as the mayor writes, certainly correctly but also with a hint of reproach. Which passages in the book were written by Federle and which by Palmer can be identified not only by the unmistakably self-assured Palmer tone, but also by the different fonts.

The presence of the strictly protected nightjar prevented the expansion of the nationally important university hospital, to the detriment of "the interests and needs of more than two million people between Tübingen and Lake Constance." And even when the recalcitrant bird had presumably "unfortunately passed away," according to Palmer, the nature conservation authorities insisted on clearing ten hectares of nearby forest to provide other interested nightjars with inviting breeding conditions in freestanding "habitat trees." Palmer felt none the less honored that part of his city was now officially designated "nightjar-expecting land." Only his courageous intervention with the Federal Minister of Construction, which he happened to make in the television studio he frequently frequented with Markus Lanz, paved the way for the construction project, Palmer reports.

Nightjars and hermit beetles are shy creatures, which is something that can't really be said for Palmer. He is irresistibly drawn to the limelight, a trait that has both helped and ultimately harmed him on his rise to the position of Lord Mayor of German popular sentiment. His undeniably successful and innovative employment at Tübingen City Hall, which he has held since 2007, is overshadowed by minor missteps and major scandals, all of which are essentially attributable to Palmer's apparently deep desire, first, to leave no thought unsaid and, second, to always be right about those that do. Because this is especially true on the issue of migration, he is now a non-partisan former Green Party member.

While Facebook has long been Palmer's preferred platform for debate, the book format seems to be the one that at least provides him with some protection from abbreviations, exaggerations, and generally unnecessary provocation. Even former party colleagues are likely to nod their heads in agreement when it comes to, for example , the packaging tax pioneered by Palmer in Tübingen . No one would seriously claim that the co-authorship of a politician and a doctor is compelling in terms of content or even dramatic elegance. But it is enough that two interesting people are talking about their rich life experiences in a lively and understandable way.

The whole thing draws credibility from the fact that the can-do approach that Palmer and Federle recommend to the country is certainly reflected in their biographies. Federle has, among other things, made a name for himself in the medical care of the homeless, and as a duo, the two caused a stir during the coronavirus pandemic with their own testing strategy . "We're doing it now!" is a Palmer book that, for once—apart from a few government officials—can't possibly offend anyone. Except, at most, the nightjar.