Because he left his bike without valid proof of insurance during a… Election campaign event in Ostrach (Sigmaringen district), Palmer was reported by someone unknown to him.

Green instead of black is Palmer’s downfall

“When the event was over, the police asked me to go to the operations manager. There had been a report about my bike. Today is the first of March, so you need a black insurance license plate. Mine was green and therefore expired as of midnight today. Therefore, the bike had to stay in Ostrach,” Palmer wrote on his Facebook page. In Ostrach, Cem Özdemir, Winfried Kretschmann (both Greens) and he also talked about bureaucracy and the alternative of an official culture of trust on March 1st (Sunday).

Palmer uses bicycle as a company car

Palmer said he was unlucky that it wasn’t a leap year: “My license plate would still have been valid on February 29th. However, I was lucky that I was able to show an appointment for tomorrow at 9 a.m. in my work calendar. The new license plate is available in the town hall and will then be installed by the city construction company. Because it is the mayor’s company car.”

According to Palmer, he agreed with the police officers that the police would prepare a report about his bike ride with an expired insurance license plate and thus give the public prosecutor the decision whether to initiate an investigation. Palmer asked in his post: “Perhaps the citizen who kept the state apparatus busy here would like to contact me? I would be happy to send proof of insurance.”

In a comment, a man writes: “The text describes so wonderfully what makes many Germans tick.” Another sees the problem with Palmer himself: “In this article, Boris Palmer once again stylizes himself as a victim of excessive bureaucracy. In doing so, he ignores the crucial point: compulsory insurance rules apply to everyone, including mayors. Anyone who bears political responsibility should not work with ironic remarks about the “culture of trust”, but rather be a role model.”