Berlin: Das plant Rot-Grün-Rot für die Hauptstadt

Four weeks after the election for the Berlin Parliament, the parties of the Left, Greens and SPD have agreed on a draft paper that will serve as the basis for the upcoming coalition negotiations. The three parties are proposing to address issues such as housing and rent, sociability of large private apartment corporations with a minimum of 10,000 apartments in Berlin, affecting around 160,000 apartments.

They also propose a maximum of two percent rent increase per year for the 440,000 communal apartments, a 100,000 affordable housing program with 100,000 building permits by 2031, and the establishment of a "rent control" and a focus unit in the state prosecutor's office against excessive and "watered-down rents." There is no construction planned for Tempelhofer Feld, free pickup of bulky waste for each household once a year, more cleanliness in parks and playgrounds, more trees, benches and fountains for climate adaptation, and better water management by retaining rainwater in the city, unblocking areas and developing Berlin into a "sponge city."

Mobility concerns include expanding bike lanes, retaining buses and trams with dedicated lanes and priority at traffic lights to avoid traffic jams, and reducing traffic on residential streets. The public transport social ticket will be cheaper (currently 27.50 Euros per month). The A100 highway will not be expanded. In education, there will be more community schools, free kindergarten to university education, free school meals and snacks for students up to 6th grade, and a ban on mobile phones at elementary schools.

There will also be an independent complaint office for better protection against discrimination and bullying in education. There will be no cooperation agreement between the education administration and the Bundeswehr. In terms of security, there will be no personnel cuts in the police. The Verfassungsschutz will remain in its current form, with increased transparency and parliamentary control.

The existing restrictions on knives and weapons and video surveillance will be reviewed in 2028 with police involvement. In culture, there will be a Kulturfördergesetz for more reliable funding, the re-introduction of 16 free museum days a year, and the culture card for young people. Society will see a strong push for the introduction of active and passive voting rights at municipal and state level for all people after five years of residence in Germany.

The finance strategy includes budget consolidation through expenditure caps, revenue increases, shifting investment financing from the core budget, utilizing credit margins, and prioritizing expenditures.