A small hinted turning movement, a middle finger that shoots up – the scandal was done. Shortly before the award of honorary citizenship, Udo Lindenberg made this gesture in the direction of the lectern, where the deputy AfD parliamentary group leader Alexander Wolf was trying to justify why his party rejected the award to the “panic rocker”. It is now clear, at least for the time being, that this moment will not have any legal consequences.
As reported by “Bild”, the Hamburg judiciary has discontinued the procedure that Wolf had reported with his complaint for insult without penalty. There is insufficient public interest. In addition, according to “Bild”, it is not certain that the offense of personal insult was fulfilled. Lindenberg could also have meant that Wolf’s contribution should be ended. The complainant does not want to accept that now. “That opens the door to the middle finger and nobody can defend themselves against it anymore,” Woilf is quoted as saying. He now wants to lodge an “extraordinary complaint”.
As an honorary citizen, Lindenberg took part in the first honorary citizen meeting in Hamburg City Hall on Tuesday evening, which took place at the invitation of the Übersee-Klub. He came to Hamburg “as a little drummer,” said Lindenberg there. Now he is the first rock’n’roller on the long list of honorary citizens – “and the second musician after Johannes Brahms”.
Just like the Übersee-Club in its 100-year history, the honorary citizens also worked in two directions, said Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD), who received several hundred club guests and the participants in the discussion in the large ballroom of the town hall. “They are of outstanding importance for Hamburg and radiate far beyond that.” The honorary citizen meeting took place as part of the 100-year celebrations of the Übersee-Club.
If it were up to Lindenberg, one could “add more and more people from culture to the colorful ranks of honorary citizens”. He recalled that the city had already served the Beatles as a springboard for their world career. “There was always a lot of music going out here in Hamburg.” This also becomes particularly clear with the Reeperbahn Festival, “one of the most important rock and pop festivals”.
