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The appointed state presidents of the Berlin SPD, Franziska Giffey and Raed Saleh, differed from the politics of the current red-red-green senate on key points. Among other things, they are calling for the previously separate areas of construction and housing with mobility and transportation to be merged into a large urban development administration, whose management the SPD wants to take on: “This is a key department for us.”
Also in domestic and economic politics, Giffey and Saleh stay away from the Greens and the left. In an interview with Tagesspiegel, former Neukölln district mayor Giffey announced an ideology-free policy for the center of society: “We are developing a pragmatic and citizen-oriented program.”
[Exklusiv für T-Plus-Abonnenten: Ist Berlin das Neukölln Deutschlands? Was der Bezirk über Franziska Giffeys Führungsanspruch verrät]
Looking at the scene around Rigaer Strasse in Friedrichshain and the different attitudes towards it in the coalition, Giffey demands: “We have to speak clear language with left-wing extremism and clearly show the limits. Anyone loitering around town, staining everything, breaking windows, setting cars on fire, injuring people, cannot justify this by campaigning for fair rents or affordable housing. ”
Giffey and Saleh want to coin a “concept of social democratic security”: “We create security for those who cannot afford it.”
Giffey and Saleh, who are running for office together at a party state congress on October 31, are making a clear commitment to free economic development in the context of coalition disputes: “Our signal, our message to the economics is: we are very welcome, ”says Saleh, who has been the leader of the SPD parliamentary group in the Berlin House of Representatives since 2011.
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Commitment to the car
Giffey is specifically committed to Karstadt’s controversial Hermannplatz plans: “The new building based on the historical model would be just great for the city. But our general objective is to promote a development in which the economy is not seen as an opponent, but as a partner. “
Especially when it comes to transportation and social issues, Giffey and Saleh rely on clear changes in policy, which have been shaped by the left and the Greens. In transport policy, this is evident in the commitment to the automobile and the expansion of the metro.
[Mehr aus der Hauptstadt. Mehr aus der Region. Mehr zu Politik und Gesellschaft. Und mehr Nützliches für Sie. Das gibt’s jetzt mit Tagesspiegel Plus. Jetzt 30 Tage kostenlos testen]
Giffey believes that it is necessary for Berlin, as a metropolitan region, not only to grow in height, but “also in breadth”. She sees parallels with the development of Berlin 100 years ago, when the city also grew strongly and planned “open-air” underground connections: “And we have to do exactly the same today.” This would also ease the housing market in the downtown districts. Giffey says.
Saleh also demands that Berlin must now “build, build, build.” Neither wants to extend the rent limit after five years; instead, a rental rate should be applied again.
In Giffey’s opinion, Berlin should “remain a free city for the most varied life plans of the people”, but he also says: “Not everything that the mayor of the district of The Greens in Friedrichshain defends as an alternative housing project leads to a respectful and good coexistence ”.
Giffey wants Berlin to become number one in digital schools
On the issue of administrative reform to resolve unclear responsibilities, Giffey rejects centralization, while Saleh criticizes the veto power of district mayors. They both depend on more staff, which they want to earn through better salaries and equipment in their workplaces: “If you look at what workplaces, citizens’ offices and police stations are sometimes like in Berlin, nobody says: Wow, it’s great to work here, “says Giffey. A change of mind is also necessary.
[Das ganze Interview finden Sie im Tagesspiegel vom Montag, der bereits als E-Paper hier abrufbar ist.]
In education policy, Giffey sets the goal for Berlin to become “number one in digital schools, both in terms of equipment and media skills.” Other than that, Berlin’s education policy could be “pretty impressive” in a national comparison, he says.
When Giffey declares his candidacy for mayor, he leaves it open. Regarding the question of an early assumption of office, she says: “I am happy to be the Federal Minister for Family Affairs and I have many more plans in this office.”
