#314: Elections, corona cash chaos, fewer cars?

AfD killing it on Tik Tok

Temps in the 30s all week! The beach at fab Flughafensee, behind the old Tegel Airport.

Dear 20 Percent,

This is a Berlin newsletter but we’re can’t ignore what happened on Sunday: The far-right AfD won a state election for the first time, with 32.8% of the vote in the eastern state of Thuringia, especially worrying since the local party head, Björn Höcke is, in effect, a Nazi.

In Saxony, they came a very close second place, after the CDU, with 30.6%.

These results are “historic” but everyone saw them coming. What now? All other parties refuse to form a government with the AfD. This “firewall” policy will result in some strange left-right strange coalitions. In both states, the CDU could end up joining forces with the new “left-conservative” BSW that rejects support for Ukraine and takes a strong anti-immigration stance.

This feels like the final nail in the coffin for the once stable post-war West German political system. It’s a new world. No one knows where this ride is going. No one has a clue what the national elections next autumn will bring.

More news below.

Maurice

PS: Many thanks to today’s sponsor, The Berlin School of Podcasting. More from them below.

Tik Tok’s role

A puzzle piece in this new world: According to a study by the University of Potsdam, the AfD achieved significantly more reach than other parties on Tiktok ahead of the two state elections on Sunday. The AfD was twice as successful with first-time voters on the platform as all other parties combined, study co-author Jasper Tjaden told RBB. Young users were served an average of 9 AfD-themed videos per week, versus around one video each for the CDU and BSW, and far fewer for other parties. A record number of first-time voters supported the far-right party in Saxony and Thuringia on Sunday.

Corona cash chaos

During the pandemic, the state of Berlin pretty much sprayed money at any self-employed person who filled out a simple form. The city’s economy department now says it will spend €204 million through 2027 merely on investigating cases of possible fraud, reports Tagesspiegel. The audits will probably take until 2030 — so far only €44.4 million of incorrectly paid out corona support has been recovered. 🤷‍♂️

Plans for ex-Tegel Airport taking shape

©Tegel Projekt GmbH/ rendertaxi

Today, Tuesday, the Berlin Senat (the city government) is expected to vote on the first phase of redeveloping former Tegel Airport. The initial section of the super-sustainable Schumacher-Quartier neighbourhood will comprise 800 apartments, with a total of 5,000 units envisioned for the ex-airport. Meanwhile, the area around the terminal is to be transformed into a research and innovation hub titled Urban Tech Republic, with space for 1,000 start-ups and tech firms.

Some events from our friends at The Next Day Berlin.

📚 Literature Festival
From 05.09 until 14.09, Haus der Berliner Festspiele and other venues. €Tickets: 8/12
The Berlin International Literature Festival 2024 features 150 international authors from over 50 countries. Under the theme “Strange New World,” highlights include Rachel Cusk, Olivia Laing, Mithu Sanyal, Elif Shafak, and Davi Kopenawa, among others, in over 150 events and workshops.

🎹 M:Soundtrack presents: Saroos + RAD
Thursday, 05.09, 7 - 10 pm. Schokoladen, Mitte
🎧 RAD will bring a mix of poetic drone and blues-punk with some raw improvisation, while 🎧 Saroos will serve up beats, post-rock, and electronic vibes with hip-hop samples and lush instrumentals. It’s worth checking out. And if you’re a Lali Puna fan, Christoph Brandner is part of Saroos.

🍕 Pizza Thirsty Thursday
Thursday, 05, 12, 19, and 26.09, 7 - 9 pm. Floating University, Lilienthalstrasse 32, 10965 Berlin.
Every Thursday in September, the Floating University invites us “to float with full bellies of yeast, wheat, and oil.” It’s a great chance to explore this amazing project, especially if you haven’t yet visited the rainwater collection basin that serves the former Tempelhof airfield.

📷 Yasuhiro Ogawa – Into the Silence & The Dreaming
Opening Saturday, 07.09, 6 - 10 pm. Until 16.11. Galerie & Verlag Buchkunst, Mitte
The Japanese photographer Yasuhiro Ogawa is showcasing his series Into the Silence. His color photos from northern Japan capture dreamlike landscapes inspired by the haiku poet Matsuo Bashō. Ogawa’s earlier work, The Dreaming, features black-and-white shots that blend lyrical and contemplative styles.

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Germany-wide news

🗳️ Will the German election results shift Ukraine policy?

🏭 VW considering German factory closures

🚆Transport minister tells Deutsche Bahn to get punctual

🖥️Cybercrime costs Germany €267 billion over last 12 months

Factoid

The number of privately-owned cars registered in Berlin dropped from 1,098,637 in 2021 to 1,078,259 in 2023. Automobile ownership fell from 291 to 278 per 1,000 residents in the time period. The district with the fewest cars is Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, with a mere 50,000. Car ownership is also falling in outer areas, perhaps useful intel for the current Berlin government, that likes to pit inner-city cyclists against those outside the Ringbahn. Caveat: the number of cars owned by businesses, including car-sharing firms, is rising.

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