After 23 years at the helm of the Friesland district, Lower Saxony's longest-serving district administrator Sven Ambrosy is leaving office after the local elections. “I would be lying if I said it was easy for me. Of course it’s a farewell and there will be a lot of pain,” said the 56-year-old to the German Press Agency.
The SPD politician, who describes himself as a “convinced communalist,” declared last fall that he would not run again, citing “purely family, very private reasons.” A new district administrator will now be elected in Friesland.
He's a little afraid of October 31st, when the farewell in the district council and the handover of office are coming up: "I have respect for that and my voice will definitely falter at one point or another," says Ambrosy. “Maybe I’ll shed a tear too, I can’t rule that out. But anyone who knows me knows that once I've made a decision, it's clear."
Ambrosy became Friesland's district administrator in 2003 - at the age of 33, he was Germany's youngest district administrator at the time. According to his own statements, he was already active in local politics at the age of 16. He was re-elected as district administrator in 2011 and 2019. The lawyer and administrative specialist is involved in leading municipal associations and is vice president of the German District Association.
Local politics as a “political decathlon”
Local politics, says Ambrosy on the occasion of the local elections in Lower Saxony, is in his view the basis of the entire state house. It is not the “cat’s table” of democracy, “where volunteer politicians or district administrators and mayors practice politics a bit and if they are good, they then go into state and federal politics. It’s not like that,” says Ambrosy. “What we are doing here is a political decathlon.”
According to Ambrosy, many people are often surprised when they hear what local government is responsible for: from emergency services, schools and kindergartens to waste disposal and road traffic to economic development. Ambrosy emphasizes that it is not just about the competence to make decisions, but also to the competence for direct implementation at the local level. “That’s what makes this political level so special.”
Even though it has sometimes become more difficult and time-consuming, good compromises can still be found in decisions in cities, municipalities and districts. The district administrator points out that just this week the Friesland district and the city of Wilhelmshaven jointly decided on a location for a new central clinic and the merger of the hospital companies. “It was a considerable discussion and in the end we managed to formulate a joint decision.”
What frustrates the district administrator and what gives him courage
The outgoing district administrator is concerned about the financial situation of many municipalities, which is increasingly deteriorating. The German District Association recently reported that the current municipal deficit amounts to around 30 billion euros per year - caused largely by federal social legislation.
“This is really something that is frustrating,” says Ambrosy. “We are given tasks, but not the necessary money. We then have to save, save, save and are left alone.” The municipalities would then also feel the frustration of service cuts due to tight budgets.
Ambrosy sees this development as a danger to democracy: “If this is not solved, a fundamental problem could arise because there are fewer and fewer volunteer local politicians who want to get involved if they only have to make one austerity budget after the other and then get a beating from their voters. Nobody can want that.”
tell stories
The district administrator advocates placing greater emphasis on the “power of local democracy” and putting it forward more confidently. Anyone who runs for elective office also bears responsibility for it, he says.
“Local politicians can tell stories that are relevant. Our district is the best example,” says Ambrosy. 25 years ago there was a very high unemployment rate in Friesland. “We only had 20,000 jobs subject to social security contributions. We had the lowest control force rating. We had red lanterns everywhere. And now we are always in the top 10 to 20 percent.” It is important to tell this story, says the district administrator, in order to remove the breeding ground for those who want to turn bad moods into votes.
He was able to complete many of the things that were on his list by October 31st. Ambrosy sees the district's investment of millions in modernizing the 15 schools in particular as a success. “Implementing this as a district administrator and seeing the joy among the teachers and students is motivating.”
Ambrosy doesn't want to turn his back on local politics completely: He is running for a seat on the local council in Wangerland.
