How Brexit will force Scots-born German mayor from office
- Published
Brexit will force Scot from German mayor's post
In a quiet corner of northern Germany there is a small community where a Scotsman is in charge.
Iain Macnab proudly flies the Scottish flag outside his home in Brunsmark, where he is the burgermeister - or mayor.
He has been elected to the post three times but Brexit means he will not be able to stay in office for much longer.
"The minute Brexit occurs, that's me," Mr Macnab said. "That's the end of my tenure because I am no longer an EU citizen."
Mr Macnab flies the saltire outside his home in Brunsmark
He has held the post of mayor for 12 years
He has had that confirmed in writing by the state of Schleswig-Holstein that includes the Lauenburg lakes region of which Brunsmark is part.
The letter states that when the UK leaves the EU, British "people won't be allowed to hold any office in a local council or local government".
That means giving up control of local services for Brunsmark's 170 residents including the school, the play park and the community fire brigade.
Unless he becomes a German citizen or secures dual nationality before the 31 October, he will be forced to quit the prestigious office he has held for 12 years.
At his stage in life, he is not prepared to make that switch.
"I've been 70 years a Scot and I'm going to stay that way" he said.
Mr Macnab grew up in Achiltibuie where his parents ran the Summer Isles hotel
Mr Macnab grew up in Achiltibuie, Wester Ross, in the 1950s, where his parents ran the Summer Isles hotel and he won Gaelic prizes at the village school.
After a spell reporting for the Perthshire Advertiser he moved to Germany where he worked as a sound engineer for rock bands and now runs an IT business.
After 40 years abroad, he speaks German fluently and is immersed in the local culture but Brexit is having a profound effect on his political outlook.
"It's making me do something that I never ever wanted to do" he said.
"It makes me begin to look at Scottish independence. I would never have considered it before this nonsense started."
Mr Macnab would prefer the Brexit decision to be reversed in a further referendum and for the UK to stay in the EU and push for reform.
"I think it's got to be completely rethought" he said.
"It's got to be much more an organisation which advises the rest instead of imposing an amazing amount of rules and regulations".
Burgermeister Macnab does, however, support the harmonised rules that allow all EU citizens the freedom to live and work across the continent.
He wants others to have the opportunities that he has enjoyed.
Brunsmark is near Mölln in the Lauenburg lakes region in northern Germany
With 10 weeks until the scheduled date for the UK's departure from the EU, Mr Macnab is not sure what the future holds for him.
He's yet to decide whether to stay on in Brunsmark with his German wife and their two children or to move the family to Scotland.
Whatever happens, Brexit ensures that his career as the elected mayor of a small town in Germany is coming to an end.
- Published21 August 2019
