The small town we call home underwent a major street update, maybe about twenty years ago, judging by the size of the trees planted along the space freed up by narrowing the thoroughfare.
Everybody, except people who smash their cars into them, likes trees. Trees symbolize humans caring for the environment, their slow growth in most of the world's climates symbolizes forethought - starkly contrasted to the three months cycle of big business revenue reporting.
Our slightly cynical view of the world, however, was dreaming the cynic's dream: find the true non-altruistic cause of any activity that happens to catch our attention.
The trees along the streets which are only busy during the morning and evening commutes and on weekends seemed immune to our quest for the cynical.
Several years ago, there was a glimpse, we filed it with a follow up rider.
It happened again, now we are certain.
The real purpose of these trees is to provide space for election campaign posters every four years!
Over night, the handful of campaign posters we took to be the most forceful possible expression of the 2013 German general election campaign had siblings galore.
They are on the trees! There is one on every single tree.
The number of lamp posts along a street is strictly regulated, and lamps are costly and require expensive maintenance. Trees are plentiful, require relatively little work. Cynics claim that the three years and eleven months without smiling politicians on the trees are long enough to make people forget their primary purpose as free campaign poster holders.
A tip of the hat to German town councils.
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