#358: Rents up, protests up, unemployment up. New podcast.
Cannabis stores coming?
Dear 20 Percent,
After the madness of last week, I need a break from talking about CDU leader Friedrich Merz’s parliamentary snuggle-fest with the far-right AfD. Nobody’s talking about anything else.
At least half of Germany seems to support Merz’s plan to limit “irregular” immigration — even favouring strict passport controls on all land borders. A stupid, unrealistic idea. Closed borders would be venom for the faltering German economy and cause massive tensions in the EU.
The other half of Germany seems convinced we’re five minutes away from Reich 4.0. Don’t get me wrong, the extremist AfD is a gang of vile characters and represent the worst side of this country. Despite Merz’s stunt, we’re not close to an AfD takeover. And a further rise of the AfD can be prevented if the centrist parties come up with realistic, rational and non-racist policies to promote integration and regulate immigration that respect human rights and don’t copy and paste far-right recipes, as Merz is attempting to do.
There is little doubt that the CDU will win the election on February 23 and Merz will become the next chancellor, but he will have to adopt a more moderate tone once the inevitable coalition negotiations with the centre-left SPD and Greens begin. And after last week’s debacle, there’s a snowball’s chance in hell he would risk a coalition with the AfD.
Personally, I’d like to hear more about other urgent issues: the stagnant economy, rising unemployment, the housing crisis, crumbling infrastructure, the poor state of schools, inefficient bureaucracy.
More news below.
Maurice
P.S. A warm thank you to insurance platform Feather for sponsoring this issue. More from them below.
P.P.S. Episode 5 of our podcast is out, sponsored by Berliner Berg brewery. Andrew and I discuss the Merz protests, the immigration office, restaurant inspections and a car left at the airport.
Anti-CDU protests getting radical
While an estimated 160,000 people took part in a peaceful march against Merz’s flirtation with the AfD on Sunday, some left-wing protesters are taking a more radical approach. Last week, activists occupied a CDU office in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. And on Monday evening, activists tried to disrupt a discussion on immigration organised by the CDU at the Alter Krug restaurant in Steglitz and clashed with dozens of police who had been called in after someone sprayed “Frontex Kills” and “ACAT” (“All Cops are targets”) on the outside of the venue Sunday night. The panel discussion included an official from the European border agency Frontex and a police labour union functionary. The cops used tear gas (but got some in their own eyes) and arrested 10 activists on trespassing charges.
Rents up and up
Rents rose more drastically in Berlin during the fourth quarter of 2024 than in any other German city, writes RBB, citing a study by economic think tank IW. Rents for new contracts went up by 8.5% in the capital, beating Essen (8.2%) and Frankfurt (8%). Berlin rental prices have risen 22% since 2022 — and doubled since 2014. Why aren’t politicians talking about this massive problem?
Cannabis stores in three districts?
A year after cannabis was semi-legalised in Germany, Neukölln, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Pankow are forging ahead with plans to permit the limited sale of marijuana products in around 2-3 shops per district. The stores are supposed to open by summer. Customers will have to be registered residents of the respective borough and will be permitted to purchase up to 25g per visit and no more than 50g per month. Humboldt University is expected to monitor the pilot project in the name of research. There’s a good chance these plans will never come to fruition: Friedrich Merz is dead set on reversing cannabis liberalisation.
Events this week, curated by The Next Day Berlin
🎹 portals
Thursday, 06.02, 8 pm - 2 am. Kwia, Maybachufer 16, 12047 Berlin. Tickets: €12.
This is a night for getting lost in sound—soft, eerie, and full of feeling. Gabrielle Rose, 🎧 Alphonsine Koh, 🎧 Odete (live/hybrid), and 🎧 Softmatter bring ambient textures and deep, experimental waves.
🪩 Italorama Bar
Friday, 07.02, 10 pm - 6 am. Panorama Bar, Am Wriezener Bahnhof 70, 10243 Berlin.
One of my favourite Fridays at Panorama Bar—Italorama brings Italo disco, Balearic vibes, and deep cuts from Baby’s Gang’s Denise Bonfanti (live), Leo Mas, Fabrizio Mammarella, Franz Scala, 🎧 Giulia Gutterer, and 🎧 Sound Metaphors DJs. Expect nostalgia, grooves, and a dancefloor that never slows down.
🎤 King Kong Fran
Saturday, 08.02, 8 pm. Colosseum, Schönhauser Allee 123, 10437 Berlin. Tickets: €30. In Portuguese with English subtitles.
A mix of cabaret, circus, and comedy, ‘King Kong Fran’ flips gender stereotypes with humor and irreverence. The Brazilian actress and clown Rafaela Azevedo brings her iconic character to Berlin, tackling sexism, consent, and power dynamics in a bold, playful way.
🔊 Tresor Klubnacht
Saturday, 08.02, 11 pm - 10 am. Tresor / Globus, Köpenickerstrasse 70, 10179 Berlin. Tickets: €22.
It’s always special to catch 🎧 Moritz von Oswald behind the decks. Also, don’t miss 🎧 Cecilia Tosh, known for her deep, groove-driven sound.
🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺
🤔 Merz: I won’t work with the AfD. No, really.
🏭 Germany to build submarines for India
🍺 Germans drinking less alcohol than ever
Factoid
Berlin’s unemployment rate crossed the 10 percent mark for the first time since 2021 in January; 11,273 more people were registered as jobless than in December — bringing the total number of people without work to 215,999. Regional director of the Arbeitsagentur, Ramona Schröder, blamed the sluggish economy and the fact that many temporary contracts ran out in December. Local business association rep Alexander Schirp commented: “The economy continues to perform poorly, compounded by structural problems due to poor underlying business conditions and a challenging transformation.”
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Agreed that the AfD are a ways off from any real power, for which we should all be thankful, and realistic about.
But…the fact they even exist and currently attract at least 20% of the electorate is cause for deep depression in and of itself. Perhaps it’s amnesia, or just simply stupid human nature, but I’m both aghast and incredulous that Germany could countenance another Nazi party.
And they are Nazis. No swish black uniforms yet, but give them time, and who knows? From small acorns and all that jazz…
Agree about the rent issue here, too. Kapitalismus is a bitch, ain’t it? How we counter it without protesting is beyond me, though, because government certainly won’t clip the wings of the rentier landlords.