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Berlin election 2023

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"Berlin politics needs a fresh start. We do not believe that the current governing coalition, which has repeatedly failed due to its own ideology, can make such a fresh start. Instead, Berlin needs a pragmatic, solution-oriented and undogmatic centrist coalition that focuses its work on what is socially necessary and not on what is politically desirable."

VBKI President Markus Voigt

Berlin election 2023

Discussion: Berlin's top candidates as guests at the VBKI

VBKI President Markus Voigtdid not turn his heart into a murder pit. In his welcoming address at the start of the top-level discussion, he referred to the many political construction sites in Berlin where no substantial progress has been made: housing construction, education, mobility and internal security. In front of more than 300 spectators in the hall and hundreds more who followed the evening via livestream, he called on politicians to prevent further division in the city and to finally start implementing the major issues - namely administrative reform. He called for a fresh start "in which pragmatism, not ideology, sets the tone".

This was followed by a passionate debate - moderated by Tagesspiegel editor-in-chief Lorenz Maroldt - in which the candidates positioned themselves programmatically. The governing mayor and top candidate Franziska Giffey, for example, unequivocally opposed any form of expropriation - in contrast to what was called for in the referendum. Bettina Jarasch, top candidate for the Berlin Greens and Senator, announced her intention to invest two billion euros in the transformation of Berlin's energy supply. Dr. Klaus Lederer, top candidate for the Left Party, advocated a more prominent role for the state in Berlin's energy sector - for example through a majority stake in the district heating network and a takeover of Gasag. The two leaders of the FDP and CDU were different: Sebastian Czaja called for trust in the forces of the market and the innovative power of the economy in order to master the challenges of the future. "Politics is not the better entrepreneur," said CDU state and parliamentary group leader Kai Wegner. Dr. Kristin Brinker from the AfD pleaded for a revival of nuclear energy.

All pictures of the evening can be found here →

Read the VBKI position paper on the 2023 Berlin elections here →

You can find a detailed report on the panel discussion in the Tagesspiegel →

Berlin election 2023

More pragmatism, less ideology

For a centrist coalition - VBKI positions on the 2023 Berlin elections

More pragmatism, less ideology - this is the core demand that Verein Berliner Kaufleute und Industrieller (VBKI) is making to the future Senate on behalf of its 2,300 members. In the run-up to the repeat elections on February 12, 2023, the association today presented its positions for a functioning, prosperous and sustainable Berlin of tomorrow. The paper is based on the desire for a political awakening in order to implement the major challenges - in particular a comprehensive administrative reform - in a pragmatic and solution-oriented manner.

The position paper was developed in collaboration with the VBKI committees, in which the VBKI pools the expertise of its members. It addresses key topics on Berlin's urban agenda and formulates the wishes and expectations of the Berlin business community and society organized in the VBKI.

For example, the VBKI advocates

for a rapid implementation of the administrative reform based on the proposals presented by the Chief Digital Officer of the State of Berlin at the end of November.

in the area of "Housing and Urban Development" for intelligent property development and an International Building Exhibition (IBA) in Berlin.

for an ambitious, excellence-oriented science policy as the basis for Berlin's future success.

in the area of "internal security and justice" for a combination of consistent criminal prosecution and the exhaustion of existing legal frameworks with a committed, demanding and binding integration policy

The complete version of the VBKI positions can be found here "