Districts | Post poker paralyzes district politics in Marzahn-Hellersdorf

In front of the Marzahn leisure forum, 70 people demonstrated against the AfD, which is the strongest faction in the new BVV. Photo: www.die-hellersdorfer.berlin The curtain is closed and all questions are open. This is how Brecht can describe the constituent meeting of the district council assembly (BVV) in Marzahn-Hellersdorf. Not only was no new district office elected in the eastern district. The election of a board of directors of the BVV also did not take place. But unlike Brecht, the numerous spectators at the BVV, which took place under high police protection, were not treated to entertainment for an hour and a half, but rather boredom.

The exception was the speech by the 84-year-old senior president Günther Krug. When the SPD politician, who had consciously experienced the end of the Second World War and the post-war period, called for "Never again fascism" against the background of his family history, there was much applause. Not without reason. With 33.8 percent, the AfD was by far the strongest faction in the BVV. She not only has the right to propose the new district mayor and two other district office members, but also the new head. If all other groups do not agree on common proposals. And that's exactly what happened.

“The CDU and AfD have not made any suggestions for the board,” said Inka Seidel-Grothe from BSW, explaining the dilemma. Kristian Ronneburg from the Left said: "There were talks, but no real negotiations between the democratic parties." He passed the buck to the CDU. During the break, their representatives stood together in small groups and discussed. One got the impression that they do not agree on how to proceed. The CDU, which became the strongest party in 2023, only came third in 2026 behind the AfD and the Left. Instead of three positions in the district office as before, she only has the right to nominate for one seat.

Nevertheless, the CDU is in the comfortable position of being the kingmaker. Because like the AfD, the Left would also be dependent on the votes of the Christian Democrats in the elections for the board and district office. They obviously haven't decided yet whether and, if so, which incompatibility resolution of their party they want to violate: Are they working with the AfD or with the Left in Marzahn-Hellersdorf?

The district CDU under Mario Czaja has actually been working pragmatically with the Left for years. Recently, however, there have been other sounds from him. He told the RBB that he saw “a major radicalization of the left,” which was greater in the city center than on the outskirts. Czaja, on the other hand, does not speak well of the AfD simply because a large number of its candidates took away direct mandates from the CDU. Nevertheless, Czaja told the media that he would also talk to the AfD. But he couldn't imagine electing an AfD mayor. Czaja left it open whether he could support city councilors from the far-right party.

Even if no one says so, the talks between the CDU and AfD seem to have taken place a long time ago. There is no other way to explain why the AfD, as the strongest faction, refrained from proposing a leader for the BVV from within its ranks. Is there poker going on behind the scenes? Has the CDU promised the AfD that it won't come away empty-handed in the district office election if it doesn't nominate a leader yet? In the previous district office, the city council position reserved for the AfD remained vacant because their personnel proposal had not received a majority in more than 40 elections.

It is the CDU that benefits from the non-election of the BVV leader, and in two ways: Firstly, the old district office, dominated by the CDU, will continue to be in office without being controlled by a BVV. Because if the BVV does not elect a board of directors, there will be no functioning structures and no committees. The district office continues to work in the old constellation, in which the CDU still has the majority of votes.

This also extends the term of office of the current mayor, Nadja Zivkovic. By mid-December, she would have completed eight years of service in the district office - as many years of service as are needed to be entitled to a pension from this time. If Zivkovic leaves the district office beforehand, she will receive nothing for her years in the district office in old age. So it's quite possible that the CDU around Czaja doesn't really want to cooperate with the AfD under the riotous district leader Gunnar Lindemann, but rather just wants to gain time by talking to the AfD.

In a joint statement, the Left, SPD and Greens demand “that all democratic forces in the district now negotiate with each other quickly.” Because the people in Marzahn-Hellersdorf “rightly expect that the newly elected district parliament will carry out its tasks.” The handling of urgent citizen concerns and the “effective control of the district office do not tolerate standstill,” it is said.

In front of the BVV, the district Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance demonstrated with around 70 people in front of the Marzahn leisure forum against the AfD and cooperation between democratic parties and the far-right party.  

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