NEWS FROM BERLIN
SPK reform: a sigh of relief
With the votes of the CDU and the FDP, the German Bundestag passed a law last Friday on the reform of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK), by far the most important cultural institution in the Federal Republic of Germany. The foundation’s institutions will now be given significantly more room for manoeuvre, for example by having their own budgets, as Berlin Minister for Culture Claudia Roth explained during a press conference at the Neues Museum. Roth referred to some of the SPK museums as “sleeping beauties” to which additional life will be breathed. Source: taz
The “firewall:” at least 160,000 people demonstrate in Berlin
Demonstrations against co-operation with the AfD took place in several German cities over the weekend. According to the police, around 160,000 people took part in a large demonstration in Berlin. The organisers counted many more, estimating the number of participants to be up to 250,000. Only around 20,000 demonstrators had initially been expected. Many protesters had placards and banners with them, with messages such as “It’s 5 to 1933” and “No Merz in February.” Due to the large crowds, the police had restricted access to the Konrad Adenauer House and asked the demonstrators to spread out. Source: rbb
Black-red coalition wants to continue austerity programme in Berlin
Berlin is cutting three billion euros in this year’s budget, and more cuts are still on the agenda after that. The Senate wants to save more in 2026 and 2027, with at least around 800 million euros are expected to be cut in the Berlin state budget. According to a report, all Berlin Senate administrations are expected to make cuts. However, the shortfall for education, science and home affairs will likely be smaller than for other departments. The concrete figures are still subject to change, and the pressure to save could even increase. Source: rbb
NEWS FROM GERMANY
Merz runs aground
The Bundestag session last Friday was eagerly awaited after the CDU/CSU’s proposals on migration had achieved a majority AfD support and were now up for discussion. Less than a month before the Bundestag elections, the debate became political. After a long interruption and a heated discussion, the bill was rejected with 350 votes against. 338 MPs voted in favour, five MPs abstained. The bill contained measures to curb migration: at its core was the suspension of family reunification for refugees with limited protection status. Source: jW
Germany’s population sees slight growth in 2024
As of December 2024 sat at 83.6 million, the population of Germany, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). As has been the case every year since German reunification in 1990, more people died in Germany in 2024 than were born. The birthrate has however “recently accelerated significantly,” according to a 2024 study by the ifo Institute in Dresden. Population growth is due to immigration: in 2024, between 400,000 and 440,000 people arrived in Germany (based on data up to October 2024). Nevertheless, the same study points out that this is a 34% lower net migration than in 2023. Source: iamexpat
Southern German cities likely to impose a tax for disposable packaging
Germany’s Constitutional Court has overruled a legal complaint lodged by McDonald’s in Tübingen after the city introduced a tax on disposable food packaging, first introduced in 2022. The franchise challenged its legality in an administrative court in Mannheim and won, arguing that it infringed on businesses’ freedom to operate as a vendor, which is protected by German law. The Constitutional Court, Germany’s highest court, has now however sided with the city. Other cities in the region, such as Konstanz, Freiburg and Heidelberg, are expected to enforce similar taxes. Source: iamexpat
Dr. Özgür Özvatan: “Migrant voters can be game changers”
In an interview, Dr. Özgür Özvatan, a sociologist at the Humboldt University, observed that the electorate in Germany is changing – and with it, its political landscape. Özvatan also spoke about voter groups and the established parties. He mentions that “the cohorts after 2000, i.e. after the citizenship reform, are another factor in the migrantisation of the electorate. They will enter the voting age in the 2020s. Therefore, yes, migrant Germans can be game changers with currently more than 15% and they will inevitably be decisive for the outcome of the upcoming federal elections in 2029 and 2033.” Source: islamiq
Michel Friedman: CDU resignation because of Merz
After being a CDU member for 42 years, author Michel Friedman returned his party membership card in protest against the CDU/CSU’s asylum vote with the AfD. He spoke in Wiesbaden about his reasons for doing so, mentioning “a catastrophic turning point for democracy” in Germany. Faction leader and candidate for chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) put his five-point plan for a stricter asylum policy to a vote in the Bundestag on Wednesday, accepting that a majority could only be achieved with the votes of the AfD. Friedman criticizes Merz’s behaviour as “serious mistakes and a breach of promise.” Source: mittelhessen.de
Old-age poverty at record level
In Germany, old-age poverty is affecting more and more retired people. This is according to data from the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden, as requested by the BSW parliamentary group. The response shows that around 3.54 million people aged 65 and over are at risk of poverty in Germany. A year-on-year increase of 1.2% to just under a fifth of all older people. The BSW leader Sahra Wagenknecht affirmed pensions are a “mega problem” in Germany, calling for a pension system modelled on that of Austria, where civil servants and the self-employed also pay into the system. Source: jW
