Heidelberg (dpa / lsw) – Heidelberg Mayor Eckart Würzner (independent) has apologized for a choice of words that was considered racist in a podcast episode. “In my food podcast, I used a phrase for foam kisses that was used a lot when I was young and was as wrong then as it is now,” he explained on Facebook and Instagram. He wanted to apologize to anyone who felt offended or hurt by the statement. He did not think about the situation and regrets the statement. The media had previously reported.
The relevant episode of the podcast “Let’s talk Eckart – Bei Mirko am Mikro” was no longer available on the official site on Tuesday. It was heard how Würzner talked about food preferences in his youth. Shortly after the word passed his lips, he said, “Oh god, I said it wrong. No, well, that’s what foam kisses mean these days.” Criticism of Würzner’s statement had been raised days ago – including by the “AfD Watch Heidelberg” initiative.
He said the term he used as a student again – but then immediately put it in context, Würzner told the German Press Agency on request. However, that was unthinking. With the number of interviews and podcasts he does every day, he didn’t manage to listen to the podcast again before it was published. When there were corresponding reactions, he noticed: “Oops, if you take that out of context, it’s not good.” He then removed the podcast episode that appeared in early August from the internet.
In Heidelberg, the election for the Lord Mayor is scheduled for November 6th.
