Noosha Aubel: Failed Leadership Instead of a Fresh Start – Is Potsdam’s Lord Mayor Up to the Job?
16.10.2026
Noosha Aubel (50, independent) promised Potsdam a fresh start after her predecessor, Mike Schubert (53, SPD), was removed from office by the city’s voters. Almost a year into Aubel’s tenure, that promise is overshadowed by a scandal involving care for a young child with multiple severe disabilities—a scandal that has become a damning indictment of the moral standards of the state capital, Potsdam, and of Noosha Aubel in particular—as well as crumbling roads, a budget freeze and an escalating leadership crisis. Meanwhile, her office comes with substantial remuneration: Aubel currently pockets an annual basic salary of €143,056. Following an announced salary adjustment, that figure is set to rise to €169,006.44 a year, funded by the public.This raises an uncomfortable but legitimate question: is Noosha Aubel actually equipped to meet the financial, organisational and political demands of running a state capital?