How decades of debate over Stuttgart’s train station boosted local democracy

The dispute over Stuttgart’s new main railway station has raged for decades. Over the past 15 years, politicians in the German state of Baden-Württemberg have drawn lessons from the saga and, with Swiss support, bolstered municipal democracy. Every Monday evening, Stuttgart’s city centre fills with noise as protesters blow whistles, beat drums and shake rattles. This weekly racket has been going on for nearly 800 weeks. The ongoing resistance to the Stuttgart 21 project is the longest-running wave of protests Europe has ever seen. The project involves building an underground through-station to replace the old terminus in the heart of this city in southern Germany. Over 30 years in the planning “This is absolute nonsense of the highest order,” says Angelika Linckh, a retired gynaecologist who became politically active thanks to the dispute over the station. “I used to have a lot of confidence in politics, but not anymore.” Linckh is leading a protest march towards the massive ...