#281: Taco Bell is coming, Giffey attacked, Bürgeramt attacked

Baby name suggestions if you're having a baby

But how do vegetarians benefit from a Döner price cap? Photo: SPD Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg

Hey 20 Percent!

Occasionally there’s a local news item that the global press goes nuts over but seems a bit ho-hum here. This week it’s a propoal by leftist pols Die Linke to institute a price cap on the Döner Kebab. The Guardian published just one of the endless, breathless reports and I was even interviewed about it by Monocle Radio (I’m at minute 56 and though it sounds like I’d been partying the night before, it was a lingering bronchitis).

To begin with, the Berlin SPD must be a bit irked since it was originally their idea — they used a Döner price cap as a satirical campaign slogan last year during the Re-Election®. But also Die Linke isn’t even polling high enough to make it into parliament were it election time. It’s not really a thing.

But I do like it as a way to say food is just getting too expensive — Berlin prices are now equivalent to how they used to be elsewhere and elsewhere is now even more expensive.

And no one seems to be doing anything about it.

In any case, we’re still free — but feel free to up your subscription to paid or contribute on Patreon to encourage us financially to keep this thing going. And stop by this issue’s sponsor, Ironhack, below.

Hope you had a good holiday yesterday and, as always, have a good weekend!

Andrew

Economy minister assaulted in library

Franziska Giffey (SPD), our former mayor and current economy minister, was attacked Tuesday by a 74-year-old man in a library in Rudow in what appears to be a random attack — an important point because campaign workers across the political spectrum have been asaulted throughout Germany in recent days. Giffey was visiting the library in her electoral district (Neukölln, to which Rudow belongs) when she was struck from behind with a bag filled with something hard. She received only minor injuries and the suspect was later arrested — he was known to library staff as well as police as a troublemaker and political agitator. He was sent to a psychiatric hospital Wednesday by a judge, according to Tagesspiegel.

Arson at government office in Tiergarten

But it’s not just politicians being attacked in these turbulent times: Someone tossed a molotov cocktail through the window of the Bürgeramt in Tiergarten early Thursday, setting office furniture ablaze, according to BZ. The Feuerwehr responded and prevented the fire from spreading. Grafitti on the building warned: “If Gaza burns, Berlin burns”. The press said they were unsure if the grafitti and attack were connected but … well … Detectives specialized in political crimes are investigating.

Run for the Bell and other former marketing slogans

Good news for the Americans out there: Taco Bell is coming to Berlin, according to Foodservice (paywall, but the interview is here on Reddit). Oh, and donut denizens Krispy Kreme too, but that’s hardly that surprising considering Krispy Kreme belongs to German investors (I’ve never been a fan of chain donut shops). No word on how soon it will happen. Everyone has an opinion about what kind of food Taco Bell is but “two bean burritos” are three of the first words I say out of my rental car every time I land abroad. The Boomer in me refuses to line up for restaurants in Berlin (Chinese noodles or breakfast, for example) but I might make an exception for a Crunch Wrap Supreme.

Factoid

Ok the contrast is awful but it’s a baby obviously in Berlin. Photo: Oliver Hamann via Creative Commons.

The most popular baby names last year in Berlin were Mohammed for boys and Sophia for Girls — the same as in 2022, according to the Association for the German language. For the right-wingers, it’s a sign that immigration is somehow putting German culture (whatever that is) at risk but nationwide Marie as well as variations of Mattheo were the most popular. I guess you could say “Mattheo” is Italian but every second Swiss person I meet is named Mattheo and what are the Swiss if not just better Germans?

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