"Berlin has a new government. The historic election thriller in the House of Representatives has made it clear how torn the SPD parliamentary group is and how little internal party decisions count - even if they were reached in a democratic process involving the party base. It is therefore all the more important to give the entire Senate around the now elected Governing Mayor Kai Wegner the necessary support to mend existing rifts and substantially develop Berlin further.

In the interests of the city, we must now look to the future: The new state government must quickly pick up speed, mobilize the forces available in the city and quickly implement the many open points on the Berlin agenda - the key to more progress is administrative modernization. We in the VBKI are happy to support the new Senate as a critical and constructive companion, congratulate the Governing Mayor and the entire Berlin state government and wish them a successful term in office!"