#384: Merz fail, Thursday off, rental crackdown in Neukölln

Queer bar in Prenzlauer Berg attacked

May 06, 2025

Dear 20 Percent,

There’s a lot going on, folks.

First, on Monday, a German military band played a brass version of Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” during Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s farewell ceremony — which tells you something about the outgoing chancellor’s mindset — if only they’d just respected me and my unpopular traffic light coalition a little more…

Jump to Tuesday morning. Drama in the German parliament.

CDU, CSU and SPD members of the Bundestag were expected to give their support to Friedrich Merz (CDU), making him the new chancellor.

But the first round of voting didn’t go as planned. Only 310 members voted in the secret ballot for Merz although together the CDU, CSU and SPD have 328 seats. He needed at least 316.

dwnews

A post shared by @dwnews

He likely won’t be sworn in as Germany’s new leader today.

Eighteen anonymous politicians appear to have staged a rebellion.

A second vote will be held but it’s unclear when — today or Wednesday.

This has never happened in post-war Germany. One more sign of the country’s worrying political instability.

🕓 Update: In a second round of voting Tuesday afternoon Merz was confirmed as chancellor. What a day.

More Berlin news below

Maurice

🙏 Thanks to Sigrid for hosting Andrew and me on the PlusFortyNine podcast! It was a blast.
🚫 Andrew was supposed to do an English comedy set Saturday but had to cancel. I’m sure he’ll say more Friday.
💬 We’ve set up a 20 % Berlin What’s App group —another way to stay in touch with your favourite Berlin newsletter & pod.

Another public holiday

This Thursday, May 8 is another public holiday in the capital: the Day of Liberation (Victory in Europe Day), the day Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies 80 years ago, ending World War II on this continent. Normally it’s not a holiday, but Berlin (and nowhere else) has decided to celebrate it this year because of the round anniversary. Shops will be closed. Stock up on supplies on Wednesday. If you forget, here’s our guide to where to shop when everything’s closed.

Crackdown on short-term furnished flats?

The district of Neukölln says it wants to ban short-term rental contracts for furnished flats which officials say are driving up prices and accelerating the housing crisis. A ban would be possible in designated “milieu protection areas” (which cover huge parts of Neukölln) designed to maintain a social mix and prevent gentrification. District councillor for urban development Jochen Biedermann (Green Party) said: “Temporary and furnished rentals exploit loopholes in tenancy law and demand exorbitant sums. This can quickly add up to rents of €3,500 for 80 sqm. This is not unusual in Neukölln.”

Queer P’Berg nightspot attacked

Prenzlauer Berg’s Tipsy Bear bar says a group of men ripped down its pride flag Saturday, set it on fire and shouted homophobic slurs. In an Instagram post, the bar wrote: “This is just one example of the hate crimes that Tipsy Bear and other qweer safe spaces experience regularly, from facist graffitti, spit on the windows, to pepper spray attacks”. They said the police were investigating the incident as a hate crime. A solidarity event is planned for 6pm tonight (Tuesday).

tipsy_bear_berlin

A post shared by @tipsy_bear_berlin

Events this week, curated by The Next Day Berlin

👩‍🎤Noche De Cantautoras: Juana Aguirre
Thursday, 08.05, 7–10:30 pm. Privatclub, Skalitzer Str. 85-86, Berlin. Tickets: €22
The second edition of Noche de Cantautoras welcomes Argentine singer-songwriter Juana Aguirre. She blends Latin American folk with electronic textures in an intimate, poetic style. Expect songs from her beautiful new album 🎧anónimo. Support artist: Gabriela Beltramino.

🦪Oyster Brunch at Geist im Glas
Thursday, 08.05, from 2 pm. Lenaustr. 27, Kreuzkölln.
Fresh oysters, natural wine, vinyl grooves and a drag show at 5 pm. Come early for a brunchy mood, stay for Happy Oyster hour from 4 to 5.

🔉Out Of Line Weekender 2025 – Dark n Electro Edition
Thu-Sat, 08-10.05, from 6:45 pm. Saturday from 5 pm. Astra Kulturhaus, Revaler Str. 99, Berlin. Tickets: €50-€100.
A three-day descent into darkwave, EBM, and post-industrial sounds. Highlights: 🎧 Marie Davidson, 🎧 Years of Denial, 🎧 Sidewalks and Skeletons.

🌸Japanmarkt Berlin – Kirschblütenfest
Sunday, 11.05, 12–7 pm. Festsaal Kreuzberg, Am Flutgraben 2, 12435 Berlin. Tickets: €8–16. Kids under 10 enter free.
Japanese street food, crafts, live music, and Hanami flair. Kimonos, ceramics, samurai demos, and matcha await you.

🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺

🤨US slams Germany for labelling the AfD extremist

✈️Germany receives new air defense system from Israel

⚡Germany’s largest wind farm is being built in the North Sea

Factoid

A little local story in Tagesspiegel illustrates Berlin’s poor urban planning skills: an EV charging station installed 2020 in Charlottenburg was made unsuable when officials decided to make the street safer for pedestrians two years later. The district has decided to move the charger 100m up the street at considerable taxpayer expense. Berlin has around 5,700 EV charging stations.