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Unfortunately, it is no longer common in Germany for informal discussions with politicians to take place in small groups. Alan Tovar Prado, an entrepreneur from Leipzig, is reviving this old tradition. Under the slogan “Local Politics, Global Minds Leipzig”, he is once again hosting an event at his restaurant, Gallo Negro, at Karl-Heine-Straße 70 on 22 October.
The guest on Wednesday will be Wolfram Günther, the Alliance 90/The Greens’ candidate for the 2027 mayoral election. Anyone wishing to attend can still register on the website.
How did a Mexican entrepreneur – who is not eligible to vote in Germany or in the mayoral election – come up with the idea of launching such an initiative? We spoke to Alan Tovar Prado about it.
Alan, what motivated you to launch ‘Local Politics, Global Minds Leipzig’?
Interviewee Alan Tovar Prado. Photo: Thomas Köhler
I’ve been living in Germany since 2012 and have been in Leipzig for 12 years now. I came here to do a voluntary social year (FSJ) and then went on to complete my Master’s degree in Business Administration at the University of Leipzig. I founded my first company 10 years ago, and Gallo Negro is one of our companies. We’re a family business, as you can see here.
In the early years, politics was a foreign concept to me; I thought that Germans should decide their own political affairs. After 14 years of living here, I’m not allowed to vote – I’m neither a German citizen nor an EU citizen.
However, a lot has happened in recent weeks and months; the political spectrum is shifting back and forth, and the political centre is disappearing. You can see this in the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Berlin. After 14 years, I told myself that I needed to keep myself informed, even if I’m not yet allowed to vote.
When I brought this up here in the restaurant – we have many foreign guests – I realized that they, too, often lack accurate information. I then discussed the idea with Alexander Türpe, who is also standing in the mayoral election. He thought it was a good idea too. However, I’m undertaking this initiative as a private individual, not as a business owner.
Wolfram Günther, the Green Party candidate, isn’t the first guest, of course. Who’s been here already, and who’s still to come?
Alexander Türpe has already been here representing the FDP; we’ve invited VOLT; we’ve invited The Left – we’re still sorting out the dates for that. Of course, the question is who else we’ll invite – how far do we want to go with this? Our local community is relatively left-wing, alternative and green; we’re still considering which parties would be welcome. But we’re not just inviting people from political parties; the Chamber of Crafts and others are also due to attend.
What topics are the main focus of the discussions for you?
We have two key topics: the first is migration and integration. Many of those who come here are migrants or have a migrant background. The second key topic is economic policy and urban development.
How should we proceed?
We want to keep the format small; we don’t want a conference with 200 anonymous participants. We want to speak directly to one another and hold open debates. If someone lies, we want to be able to say that what they’ve said isn’t true. That’s the concept.
Alan, thank you for the interview and best of luck.
It’s an interesting format that Alan Tovar Prado is organizing. We’ll be attending the session with Wolfram Günther and will report on it.
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