A former Tübingen city councilor from Die Partei has accused Mayor Boris Palmer of at least one sexual assault, alleging that after initially consensual intimate encounters he touched her breasts against her stated will — a claim Palmer flatly denies, taz.de reported. The allegation, published Tuesday in a 17-page statement accompanied by personal photos and undated WhatsApp chat excerpts on Instagram, has already forced Palmer to suspend his honorary role as an adviser on cutting bureaucracy for Minister-President Cem Özdemir.
Palmer denies claims amid party comeback
- A former Die Partei councilor alleges Palmer sexually assaulted her during a secret intimate relationship that began after she left the council; Palmer calls the claims “baseless” and is examining legal action.
- Palmer has suspended his unpaid advisory post on state modernization and administrative simplification at Özdemir’s request until the allegations are clarified.
- The case threatens to permanently end Palmer’s attempted comeback with the Green Party, which Özdemir had personally engineered in the spring.
What the former councilor alleges
The woman, a former Tübingen city councilor for Die Partei, describes what she calls a “secret, sexually charged relationship” with Palmer that began after she left the council. In her detailed statement she says that after initial consensual encounters, Palmer touched her breasts against her explicitly stated will. She also writes openly about past abuse experiences, psychological problems and suicide attempts — all of which, she says, Palmer knew about.
Palmer responded in a written statement on Tuesday:
“The allegations are baseless. I will defend myself against them and am having legal steps examined.”
Why this hits Palmer’s comeback at its core
Palmer, the long-serving mayor of Tübingen, had already been written off by the Greens after racist remarks and Nazi trivializations ended his party career in 2023; he resigned to spare the party further damage. This spring, Özdemir — Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg and a longtime friend — engineered a rapprochement: he deployed Palmer in the election campaign to reach conservative male voters and even had him officiate his wedding. After the election, Özdemir appointed him adviser on reducing bureaucracy.
That advisory role was meant to be a form of resocialization of the party’s enfant terrible. It is now on hold. Palmer said he told the Minister-President he would let his honorary office for state modernization and administrative simplification rest until the allegations are clarified; Özdemir is said to have asked him to do so.
Özdemir’s earlier warning now reads differently
Speaking to taz in the summer about his friend’s reliability, Özdemir said:
“I told him clearly: this is also a chance for you to correct your relationship with the Greens. I would be very happy if it happens. But I don’t have that alone in my hands.”
Unlike his earlier controversies — which were about words — this time it is about an alleged act.
Die ehemalige Tübinger Gemeinderätin Samantha Hilsdorf (Die PARTEI) wirft dem Oberbürgermeister von Tübingen, Boris Palmer, sexuelle Belästigung vor. „Die Vorwürfe sind haltlos. Ich werde mich hiergegen zur Wehr setzen und lasse rechtliche Schritte prüfen“, erklärte Palmer. pic.twitter.com/QKd69cbYOt”
The pattern of past relationship scandals
A private relationship had already gotten in Palmer’s way once before. In autumn 2022, ahead of his second re-election, a candidate for a job in Palmer’s office took the matter to court, claiming she had been passed over because of an earlier liaison with the mayor. The court dismissed the suit. After his 2023 downfall, Palmer took time out and hired a coach.
| Event | Year | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Job applicant sues over alleged earlier liaison with Palmer | 2022 | Court dismisses the claim |
| Racist remarks and Nazi trivializations | 2023 | Palmer leaves the Greens to protect the party |
What is still unknown
It is not yet clear what actually happened. The WhatsApp excerpts the woman published are undated, and Palmer is weighing legal steps. For now, the allegation stands unproven and the denial stands unrefuted — but the political damage, as taz notes, will not pass without leaving a mark on Palmer and his former Green allies, handing ammunition to everyone who always considered him an incalculable risk.
Ja, heute (3. November 2026) gibt es sehr aktuelle Nachrichten zu Boris Palmer: Vorwurf sexueller Belästigung Eine ehemalige Tübinger Gemeinderätin wirft Palmer in einem 17-seitigen Onlinestatement unter anderem einen sexuellen Übergriff vor. (SWR) Konsequenzen – Palmer weist die…
More on Tübingen
Tübingens Oberbürgermeister Boris Palmer hat bisher nicht bestätigte Vorwürfe sexueller Belästigung als »haltlos« von sich gewiesen. Sein Amt als Bürokratie-Berater der baden-württembergischen Landesregierung lässt er ruhen. Link in X-Bio. pic.twitter.com/bgMCGqM3wE
Der Ex-Grüne Boris Palmer, der den Grünen gerne wieder beitreten möchte, hat jetzt offiziell eine Anzeige wegen sexueller Belästigung am Hals. Die Vorwürfe gehen auf die ehemalige Tübinger Gemeinderätin Samantha Hilsdorf (29, Die PARTEI) zurück. Sie machte ihre Schilderungen… pic.twitter.com/X0bMg5NRHZ
