Politics
Although the Lord Mayor has been from the Social Democratic Party of Germany since 1966, the biggest party in the city council is traditionally the Christian Social Union.
The city politics is mostly dominated by a coalition of bigger parties ("coalition of the reasoned") from CSU, SPD, Christlicher Rathausblock Memmingen (Christian Town Hall Party Memmingen) and the Free Voters. The smaller parties of Ecological Democratic Party, Alliance '90/The Greens and the Free Democratic Party are building the opposition.
There was a hefty dispute between the parties in 2005, concerning financial participation in the Memmingen Airport. The Ecological Democratic Party and the Greens initiated a referendum to inhibit financial support for the airport, but this vote met with no success.
At the top of the city government is the Lord Mayor, who is elected directly by the people. The next vote will be 2010. He is the representative of the town and the leader of municipality. As second representatives, tho majors are elected from the members of the city council. Historically the CSU, as biggest party, appoints the second major. The third major is appointed by the third biggest party. The second biggest party, the SPD, traditionally declines to appoint the third major, because they already appoint the Lord Mayor.
Memmingen is building, alongside the double centre Ulm/Neu-Ulm, the second economical centre in Upper Swabia. It thus leads the central supply function for the adjoining cities and districts.
Read more about this topic: Memmingen
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