Citizens' concerns - The Left encourages people to petition
Education matters, administrative affairs and much more: The Left confirms the people in Saxony-Anhalt, bringing their concerns to the Landtag in the form of petitions. Public trust lost in institutions must be regained, said the chairwoman of the Left fraction Eva von Angern. "The chances of success are much higher for a petition than, for example, with lawsuits before the Administrative Court." It's about getting to know the problems of people and helping them if possible. "We can't always, but we try in every case."
During the current legislative period, the petitions committee of the Landtag dealt with 1625 issues, as the committee chairwoman Monika Hohmann stated. It is expected that the number will be similar in this period, as there were about 2700 petitions in the previous one.
One petition out of five is successful
By June 24, 2024, 244 petitions had been completed. 19% were decided positively in the sense of the petitioner, and an additional 4.4% were partially positive. The issues covered all areas of life, Hohmann said. For example, students of a gymnasium in the Altmark had registered a petition due to excessive lesson absences. In another case, it was about school social workers. "Something usually happens in such cases," Hohmann said.
At the train station in Großkugel, a second waiting hut was set up, podologists in training were exempted from school fees, and the fight against Eichenprozessionsspinner and Goldafter kept the committee members busy, as did the cleaning of cemeteries and traffic regulations on streets, as well as slow-working authorities and people waiting for their money.
Children and adolescents can also submit petitions
Anyone can submit a petition, including children and adolescents, according to Hohmann. No special form is required. Since the change in the petition law several years ago, the petitioners can participate in the deliberations and ask questions to representatives of the ministries. "That has proven successful," said the committee chairwoman. Approximately one in every third petition considered was present during the deliberation. The Left politician emphasized that it is not primarily about party politics in the committee, but about the concerns of the people.
The Left in Saxony-Anhalt believes that petitions, such as the one from students at a gymnasium, are an effective way to bring societal concerns to the Parliament, bypassing the administrative court if success chances are higher. During the current legislative period, the Landtag's petitions committee, led by Monika Hohmann, handled over 1600 issues. Moreover, children and adolescents are also encouraged to submit petitions, as demonstrated by the case of podologists in training exempted from school fees.
