Giffey in the Rotes Rathaus: The new Senate goes to work
Created: 12/21/2021, 03:34 PM
After their appointment, the members of the Senate stand together for a group picture.
© Carsten Koall / dpa
Franziska Giffey is the Governing Mayor of Berlin.
She wants a fresh start, even if the parties involved remain the same.
One or the other stress test is already foreseeable.
Berlin - She did it: After a year full of personal ups and downs, Franziska Giffey was elected as the new Governing Mayor of Berlin on Tuesday.
The 43-year-old - SPD state chairwoman, ex-federal family minister and since a plagiarism affair without a doctorate - is at the head of a three-party coalition with the Greens and the left.
She has ruled the capital since 2016 and now wants to try again together.
According to Giffey, it should be a restart.
In fact, of the ten Senate members from the previous red-red-green state government, only two are still there - the new faces are in the majority.
The opposition, however, has already accused Giffey of betting on “business as usual” and not on a new beginning.
Many Berliners also see it this way that things should be different and, if possible, better. Many in the capital no longer want to wait weeks for an appointment at the citizens' office, want clean toilets in schools for their children, an affordable apartment and better public transport offers, especially outside the inner city districts. The new red-green-red three-way alliance has already agreed to tackle such problems after five weeks of coalition negotiations. According to the will of Red-Green-Red, Berlin should even become the “future capital”.
Giffey has set a goal of building 20,000 new homes a year.
The new Senator for Urban Development and Housing, Andreas Geisel (SPD), should make sure that it does not stop with announcements.
In addition, Red-Green-Red agreed to employ more police officers, to ensure more security with more video surveillance and to modernize the Berlin administration, a constant cause of frustration and complaints.
Movement should also be made in transport policy - much faster than before.
Red-Green-Red, RGR for short, wants to tackle the extension of several underground lines.
There should be more e-buses, new tram lines, better connections to the surrounding area and more frequent buses and trains.
If more people in Berlin switch from cars to public transport, this could also serve to protect the climate.
The Senate has already invested heavily in new buses and subway trains in recent years and has initiated many plans for new cycle lanes. However, much of this has not yet been implemented. Above all, the deputy head of government and new Senator for Transport, Environment and Climate Protection, Bettina Jarasch (Greens), should take care of this.
It is already clear that red-green-red has to adjust to one or the other stress test. One is the decision on the implementation of the referendum on the expropriation of large housing companies in Berlin. Almost 60 percent of the electorate voted in favor of it on September 26th. The “Deutsche Wohnen & Co. expropriate” initiative, which initiated the referendum, hopes that this will curb the rise in rents, which in recent years has been significantly higher in Berlin than the national average.
The left supported the initiative, the Greens are skeptical, the SPD took a clear position against expropriations in the election campaign. The issue cost a lot of time in the coalition negotiations. The three parties agreed to set up an expert commission in early 2022. It should examine the possibilities, ways and prerequisites for implementing the referendum and, within one year, draw up a recommendation for the Senate on how to proceed. The Senate does not want to make a decision until 2023.
The topic holds some potential for conflict.
This also applies to the question of which course the SPD is taking in the urban development department, which it is taking over from the left, said the political scientist Stephan Bröchler, who teaches at the Berlin University of Economics and Law (HWR), at the start of the new Senate.
“The problem is that these are both issues that pose questions of identity for the left.
These are neuralgic points. "
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As announced by its state chairman Giffey, the SPD is relying on significantly more new construction, not least in cooperation with private housing companies.
On the left, there are fears that housing construction is going more in the direction of neoliberalism, said Bröchler.
“And the left will take a closer look.” This will be a balancing act for the new Senate.
"RGR Season 2 begins today," said the new Transport Senator Jarasch after the coalition agreement was signed on Tuesday.
It remains to be seen whether RGR has what it takes to be a successful series - there are still five years until another season is planned.
dpa