WATER ABLAZE - Patagonia Sin Represas

6.1 Public Opinion Is Not Asked for
What exactly had happened in Stuttgart The members of the Water
Forum set about investigating the circumstances surrounding the sale
of Stuttgart’s water supply, a task which proved very difficult since,
traditionally, almost all contracts relating to such deals are kept secret.
This fact alone should have been enough to summon the townsfolk
into the arena because, as critics firmly believe, the nondisclosure
of these documents is tantamount to a betrayal of interests and thus
represents an act of disloyalty towards the electorate.
Stuttgart is the provincial capital of Baden-Württemberg. According
to the local government code, city and town councillors are obliged to
“conscientiously protect the rights of the town, and advance the wellbeing
of the town and its citizens to the best of their ability”. 16 They
should make decisions “based on their own independent conviction
and solely for the well-being of the public, within the framework of the
law” and are not “tied to any obligations and contracts which restrict
this freedom”. 17 If taking an official oath means more than just paying
lip service, then business deals which bind the contractual partner to
secrecy should be categorically turned down. Even if such deals actually
did come about, they should be regarded as not binding, in this respect
at least.
It was remarkable how vehemently the sell-off was defended by its
proponents – the Conservative (CDU) and the Liberal (FDP) parties
– who seemed oblivious to the existing conflict of interests. The gist
of their arguments was always the same: the city was in need of the
money and the water was just as good as before. It was anyway an
antiquated idea that water supplies had to be operated under local
authority control.
In order to broaden the alliance of those who are opposed to the
sale and in favour of remunicipalisation as well as to reach a greater
number of people, the Stuttgart Water Forum cooperated with other
initiatives and environmental groups to organise podium discussions
in the evenings. The debates became particularly heated whenever
politicians from the CDU took part, maintaining – as they still do
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