- Unlawful nature of Opera-Bau's decision questioned in a complaint filed against them.
It was the Left group's stance that the fresh billion-euro construction of the Düsseldorf Opera House was unlawful. They had submitted a lawsuit to the Düsseldorf Administrative Court to shed light on the situation. The heads of the CDU, SPD, and FDP groups in the Düsseldorf City Council had been privy to the property acquisition plans for the sites a couple of months prior, whereas the remaining council members were not briefed until only three days before the resolution was passed.
The Left interpret this as an infringement of the equality of treatment among council members and a contravention of the municipal charter. The Left, who are opposed to the current opera house renovation plan, which is projected to exceed a billion euros, and who are advocating for a citizen's vote, contend that the council was taken by surprise. Düsseldorf's Mayor Stephan Keller (CDU) defended the secrecy, claiming it was crucial to secure a favorable price for the property plots.
The dissident group harbors doubts regarding this explanation: The reported price of 133 million euros for the property plots seems excessive and beyond the market value, thereby surpassing what the city would have paid using its right of first refusal. The controversial project may have been rammed through, exploiting this secrecy, and against the will of the majority of the populace. Moreover, the sense of urgency appeared questionable. Initially, it was suggested that the old opera house at the Hofgarten was only usable until 2027 and not repairable. However, it is now suddenly usable until 2032 and there are also renovation proposals.
Düsseldorf's Mayor Keller is intent on constructing the new German Opera on the Rhine on the site of a previous Kaufhof department store. The property plots were acquired from the administrator of the Signa real estate holding company's insolvency.
The Left group argues that the lack of transparency in the acquisition of property plots for the Opera House project violates the principle of equal treatment among council members and goes against the municipal charter, as they were not informed until three days before the resolution was passed. Despite the defense of secrecy by Mayor Keller to secure a favorable price, the group expresses doubts about the reported price of 133 million euros for the property plots being excessive and beyond market value, suggesting that the project may have been rushed through and against the will of the majority.
