The Japan Times - Noosha Aubel calls for accountability in Potsdam; a road disaster highlights leadership shortcomings

The camera pans across cracked asphalt, exposed cobblestones and crumbling repair patches. The video documentary, lasting just over two minutes, of Rudolf-Breitscheid Street in Potsdam (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sko9O0RIUsI) shows numerous open patches in quick succession. A frame-by-frame analysis identifies at least 34 separate, partly jagged breaks and defects. Added to these are two longer damaged seam areas on the marked hard shoulder. The potholes shown again at the end were counted only once.

Even using this editorially cautious method, the findings remain damning for Noosha Aubel and her administration: the filmed section shows a severely damaged road surface with numerous jagged edges and transitions, which pose a massive danger to pedestrians, cyclists, cars and motorbikes and which can also lead to dangerous situations when drivers swerve to avoid them.

Aubel’s own standards call her conduct into question

In her statement published on the city’s website regarding the esteemed Deputy Mayor Bernd Rubelt, Aubel lectures, with great bombast, on the special responsibility of political office-holders: “An elected political office-holder is not simply a private individual at a public event, particularly one whose subject matter falls within their original sphere of influence. They are the representative of the City of Potsdam. Their office carries with it a special public and political responsibility.”

This statement by Aubel has political implications and goes beyond what Aubel appears to be suggesting here: anyone who attempts, in a patronising manner, to ‘explain’ to others the link between office and responsibility must, above all, apply this standard to themselves. Noosha Aubel heads the city administration. Her claim to responsibility must therefore stand the test precisely where municipal duties affect people’s safety.

As mayor, Aubel could publicly outline the conduct she expects from a councillor, but she should bear in mind the saying: ‘People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones!’ Citizens are entitled to know, in equal detail, what hazards were identified on a road in Potsdam that has been problematic for years, who ordered the safety measures to be put in place, and when the effectiveness of these measures was assessed. Every citizen is entitled to this information under the Act on Access to Files and Information (BbgAIG). Grand statements about official responsibility lose their value and become nothing more than a political declaration of bankruptcy and self-congratulatory flattery in the media when practical administrative performance falls woefully short to the detriment of citizens.

In view of the documented road problems, a specific question therefore arises for Lord Mayor Aubel, who currently receives a gross monthly basic salary of 11,921 euros under pay scale B 7 and, in future, 14,083.87 euros under a draft reform – all paid by the hard-working citizens of Potsdam: By what verifiable results does the senior administration measure professional performance when key maintenance issues have persisted for years?

The city itself has published the background to this matter

The official sources do not allow for this to be portrayed as a sudden surprise. On 7 March 2024 (https://www.potsdam.de/de/wintersaison), the City of Potsdam itself explicitly mentioned extensive damage on Rudolf-Breitscheid Street and generally described the consequences of maintenance measures that had been neglected for years. On 6 May 2024 (https://www.potsdam.de/de/186-geschwindigkeitsbeschraenkung-fuer-die-rudolf-breitscheid-strasse), the city of Potsdam stated that the 30 km/h speed limit, in force since May 2023, was no longer sufficient due to the deterioration of the road. This was followed by a 10 km/h limit; and a closure was being considered should the condition deteriorate further, although this had not taken place by the time of going to press on Monday, 14 September 2026.

On 4 September 2024 (https://www.potsdam.de/de/378-rudolf-breitscheid-strasse-wird-ausgebessert), the City of Potsdam announced temporary repair works. On 8 January 2025 (https://www.potsdam.de/de/007-wieder-tempo-30-auf-der-rudolf-breitscheid-strasse-zwischen-s-bahnhof-griebnitzsee-und), a 30 km/h speed limit was again reported for the section between Griebnitzsee S-Bahn station and the Potsdam city limits. Between August-Bebel Street and the S-Bahn station, the 10 km/h speed limit remained in place. The city shamefully and explicitly described these temporary measures as ‘provisional’.

So there was roadworks taking place. Added to this is the fundamental reconstruction of the August-Bebel Street junction, which has been documented since the current year 2026 (https://www.potsdam.de/de/087-verkehrsprognose-fuer-die-woche-vom-2-bis-8-maerz). These partial measures do not even begin to explain why the section of road now captured on film continues to have so many open potholes, some with sharp edges, nor do they clarify how the remaining hazards are being monitored and when this is being verifiably recorded.

This is a serious political failure on the part of Noosha Aubel, acting in her capacity as Lord Mayor, regarding the city of Potsdam’s maintenance policy. Simply describing the problem time and again does not in any way resolve it. A temporary solution that has been in place for years demands all the more rigorous and transparent monitoring of its condition and limitations; indeed, the citizens of Potsdam are entitled to expect Aubel to mitigate these risks and are certainly not issuing her a monthly blank cheque for political failure, amounting to well over 11,000 euros.

Dilapidated infrastructure, a maintenance backlog and danger to life and limb

The uneven edges and potholes in a completely dilapidated road, with a visible maintenance backlog in the infrastructure, can not only damage tyres and rims; they also pose a massive risk of falls for cyclists, children and people on e-scooters, quite apart from the issue of safe access for people with disabilities. A narrow wheel can slip off an edge or become misaligned. Anyone who subsequently ends up in the flow of traffic could be seriously injured or even killed. Dealing with such damage therefore concerns the protection of life and limb, which is why questions regarding a breach of the duty to insure are appropriate here. From a political perspective, the video serves as evidence that the Potsdam local authority, under its highly paid head Noosha Aubel, is failing to manage risks effectively; after all, a ‘speed limit’ offers little protection against such road damage – particularly when it has persisted for years – in terms of ensuring safe passage or preventing potential harm.

This is made even clearer by the Brandenburg Road Act (https://bravors.brandenburg.de/gesetze/bbgstrg), which explicitly requires the Potsdam administration under Noosha Aubel to ensure impeccable road maintenance and traffic safety; a 10 km/h speed limit sign therefore does not constitute a blanket exemption from liability. The relevant departments at the town hall must be able to explain in writing, with reference to the aforementioned Act on Access to Files and Information, why their actions could have led to a hazardous situation and why this was not rectified for years. These statements could very soon become a matter of interest to the judiciary.

Accident: Estimated repair costs of more than ten thousand euros

Just how concrete the dispute already is is demonstrated by a quotation submitted to the editorial team by the authorised Audi Centre in Berlin-Charlottenburg, dated 4 September 2026, for a gross total of 10,747.16 euros for the repair of an Audi. The owner attributes the claimed damage to an incident on 26 August 2026; a criminal complaint was filed and the police were called in almost immediately. Understandably, on 9 September 2026, the garage applied to the Municipal Damage Compensation Scheme (KSA) of the states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia for authorisation to cover the repair costs.

What followed could now become a legal case: the KSA’s rejection of 11 September 2026 is directed entirely against the city’s liability as a whole, not against individual repair items.

KSA and Aubel Town Hall: self-exoneration conjured out of thin air

“By erecting information signs, our member had done his bit”: with this terse statement, the Municipal Damage Compensation Scheme dismissed the injured party’s claims on 11 September 2026. The letter makes no mention whatsoever of specific inspection dates, findings or an assessment of the safety measures’ effectiveness. Their self-assurance knows no bounds; accountability is completely lacking – citizens in Potsdam could scarcely expect greater audacity. According to information received by the editorial team, the claimant responded in writing on the very same day: the reference to signs does not, in this specific case, answer the questions regarding inspections, reports of defects and the actual control of hazards. Meanwhile, the return receipt for the damage and hazard report sent to the city has also been received: it confirms collection on 31 August 2026. Following verification by the editorial team, the reported road damage had still not been repaired by 08:25 on 14 September 2026; local residents commented: “That’s typical of those at the town hall; Aubel should be voted out and removed from office just like Schubert!”

It does little to help the incumbent Lord Mayor, Noosha Aubel, that she herself tries to fabricate nice photos for Facebook through so-called “discussions”, which she always announces on the city’s website. This sort of media-driven spectacle no longer goes down well with many residents of Potsdam, who are appalled by Aubel’s conduct in office, as they told journalists yesterday in Potsdam’s Volkspark.

The general nature of the problem has been documented since May 2023 at the latest; in light of this background, the KSA’s response comes across as defensive prose churned out by a cheap factory, filled with baseless lectures for the public – which, in conclusion, is nothing more than a shameful document of institutional self-righteousness in Potsdam. Such reasoning does not refute the accusation of inadequate risk management – it merely masks it with a dubious attempt at exoneration, which, moreover, calls morality and decency into question.

For Noosha Aubel, the KSA’s letter is by no means a political acquittal; on the contrary. Anyone who, like Aubel, grandly preaches public accountability must provide verifiable answers regarding their own administrative management. If these are not forthcoming, Mayor Noosha Aubel’s talk of responsibility degenerates into completely hollow self-promotion and empty rhetoric, whilst her claim to leadership amounts to a declaration of political bankruptcy.

The potential legal dispute does nothing to repair a single pothole; citizens need effective hazard prevention, not a rhetorically convoluted shield for those in charge and blatant shortcomings. A letter of rejection does not turn a road defect into an administrative service; it leaves the taxpaying citizen in the lurch, who must now take legal action against the administration with the help of solicitors.

Aubel’s responsibility does not end at the post office

Since taking office on 24 October 2025, Noosha Aubel has borne responsibility for the management and organisation of the city administration; in this capacity, Mayor Aubel must lead an administration in which necessary safety-related measures are followed through.

The return receipt documents receipt by the city. What matters for the political assessment is what the administration has done with this information – currently, demonstrably, nothing! Leadership responsibility does not begin only when an envelope containing a hazard report is personally opened.

The KSA may reject a claim for compensation; however, it cannot issue Noosha Aubel with a political discharge. Its highly questionable assertion that the city had ‘done its bit’ by putting up warning signs is not only a moral admission of failure on the part of the political leadership at Potsdam Town Hall, but also an acknowledgement of a massive loss of control, with road defects left unrepaired. City councillors should demand this evidence and ensure that responsibilities are made public. The senior administration owes the public accountability rather than a facade of half-baked attributions of responsibility.

In her public statement, Aubel herself draws a distinction between disciplinary consequences and political assessment. She must apply this same standard to herself and resign immediately. In the editorial team’s view, the documented road defects and the unanswered questions regarding oversight raised in the letter of rejection give rise to serious doubts about Noosha Aubel’s suitability as a political leader for the organisation of the administration in the state capital, Potsdam.

Anyone who, like Noosha Aubel, publicly preaches responsibility to others must ensure it is upheld within their own administration and be prepared to face the reality of their own shortcomings in the performance of their duties.