Saturday 15 January 2022
Utopian venture
CDU Vice-General is looking for rental bargains in Berlin
Christina Stumpp is part of the new CDU. The member of the Bundestag from Baden-Württemberg does not seem to know the housing market in the capital. With rather unrealistic ideas, she asks for tips on finding an apartment on the party’s intranet.
Christina Stumpp was elected to the Bundestag for the CDU for the first time in the Bundestag elections in September. In addition, Friedrich Merz’s 34-year-old campaign advisor is to help the new party leader as Deputy Secretary General in the reorganization of the Union. But she is still struggling with the Berlin housing market. As the “Business Insider” reports, among other things, Stumpp asks for tips on finding an apartment on the intranet of the Bundestag.
Looking for a place to stay in the government district or in the immediate vicinity of the Bundestag. However, the desired 60 square meters or more for a maximum of 800 euros is likely to be a problem in a housing market that is so tense that Berliners voted in September for expropriation of housing groups.
Help is already coming from SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert. He added the following comment to a job advertisement published on Twitter for a research assistant with a focus on rent policy: “Hang on, Ms. Stumpp! We’ll solve that for you soon!”
In the referendum on September 26, 59.1 percent of voters in Berlin voted for the expropriation of large real estate companies. During the negotiations to form a new state government, the SPD, the Greens and the Left agreed to first set up a commission of experts to examine the implementation and be given a year to do so.
However, the new federal building minister, Klara Geywitz, does not believe in expropriations. This only changes the ownership structure, the SPD politician told the “Tagesspiegel”. She pointed out that the coalition agreement for the new federal government of SPD, Greens and FDP provides for a rent brake until 2029, a limit on rent increases in tight housing markets and the expansion of the rent index. “I will speak to the Minister of Justice to implement this as soon as possible.” If the rental market does not relax, the SPD will talk to the coalition partners about further steps.