Berlin – Climate, mobility transition and diversity: These are the topics with which the Greens were able to convince, especially in the election for the Berlin District Council. After the election, the party now has five district mayors in Berlin instead of two. In Mitte and Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, the Greens were able to expand their lead as the strongest force, plus the election victories in Pankow, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Tempelhof-Schöneberg.
In Tempelhof-Schöneberg it was close: The Greens are with 23.6 percentage points ahead of the SPD and the previous district mayor Angelika Schöttler, who received 23.5 percent of the vote. Jörn Oltman, previously the district councilor for urban development and construction, will take over the office. His focus is on affordable living space and diversity.
In Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, the result is clearer: The Greens won 5 percent compared to the 2016 election, while the SPD lost 2.9 percent of the vote. This means that the Greens are relatively surprising with a total of 24.8 percent, 2.6 percentage points ahead of the SPD and 2.9 percentage points ahead of the CDU, which entered the race with Heike Schmitt-Schmelz and Judith Stückler. The Greens, on the other hand, competed in a trio. Kirstin Bauch wants to work for improvements in the health, social and educational system, Dagmar Kempf puts culture in the foreground, and the previous district councilor Oliver Schruoffeneger names the climate-neutral redevelopment of cities as a goal. It is not yet clear who will hold the office. He expects a longer decision-making process, said a spokesman.
Instead of five, the SPD now only has three district mayors: in Spandau, Treptow-Köpenick and Neukölln. In Neukölln, the Social Democrats remain clearly the strongest force with 28.7 percent, although they have deteriorated somewhat compared to 2016. The SPD has provided the district mayors in the district for 20 years.
In Pankow, the Greens are the electoral winners with 24.7 percent and a gain of 4.1 percent. The new district mayor Cordelia Koch wants to work for a traffic turnaround and for climate justice at the local level. She places a special focus on the preservation of green spaces. She replaces Sören Benn (left), who has to deal with 19.4 percent fewer losses than the SPD.
In Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Clara Herrmann becomes the green district mayor and takes over from her party colleague Monika Herrmann, with whom she is not related. In the middle, Stephan von Dassel remains in office, whose policy is controversial in his own party.
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