Boris Palmer, the mayor of Tübingen, says he has no regrets about what he has said. When asked by Der Spiegel, he explained that he “regretted nothing that I have said” but he is frustrated that his critics found it easy to discredit him. To avoid future sh”tstorms he now has his posts reviewed by artificial intelligence. “If I’m not sure, I ask ChatGPT whether I can write it that way” he told the magazine. The chatbot, he added, is “fairly woke” and often says no.
Palmer admitted that he has at times made false statements. He said he would apologize, even if he didn’t really feel it, “to ward off further harm”. He calls it a bad habit that people keep spewing mud until the target apologises for the sake of their own image. According to him, the current zeitgeist of woke‑ness has begun to retreat; the over‑emphasis on language regulation and moral policing has left the majority of people fed up.
For many years Palmer was a vocal figure in debates around migration and similar issues. Recently he moderated his online presence, which has helped him regain a level of acceptability on the political stage. He has no intention of pursuing a ministerial position in the Baden-Württemberg cabinet under the green party’s candidate Cem Özdemir, but he could still be involved in government work.