Bundestag election in the district of Munich – wish list to Berlin – district of Munich

The expectations of a future federal government are high. The SPD, the Greens and the FDP are exploring the prospect of a traffic light coalition and, after the election, talk about new beginnings, progress and even a turning point. A lot is to be tackled that politics has not yet managed. Max Wagmann from the Arbeiterwohlfahrt, Deniz Dadli, youth worker from Oberschleißheim, and Willie Stiehler from the Energy Agency are following this with great interest; as well as representatives of companies and employees. You can think of a few things that should be done: from climate protection and civil rights to reducing bureaucracy.

The union woman

Simone Burger, the chairwoman of the Munich district association in the German Federation of Trade Unions, considers it fundamental to reconcile climate protection and “good work”. State investments in neglected infrastructure are urgently needed. Burger hopes that the question of who will benefit from the increase in the value of land, which hardly finds any upper limit, will be answered for the good of society. It relies on a reform of land law and on the fact that the public benefit for housing companies is restored so that affordable housing is created.

The entrepreneur

Christoph Leicher, the chairman of the regional committee of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IKH) Munich-Upper Bavaria, hopes that the government will soon focus again on those who are “the basis of prosperity” – in his opinion the entrepreneurs who are under Bureaucracy groaned. It’s not about “forms and such,” says Leicher. He is thinking, for example, of the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, which obliges companies to ensure that their suppliers from distant countries comply with certain standards. Controlling this is immense. Leicher thinks that government tasks are passed on here. Just as with the obligation to keep an eye on the corona protection status of the workforce – without actual authorization. Generally speaking, labor law: The new world of work in the age of home offices must be regulated there. Should the government present a “master plan”, the economy would be there. Leicher does not put tax cuts first.

The carer

For Max Wagmann, living is a major social issue in the Munich district. The presidium chairman of the workers’ welfare in the district considers a rent cap to be difficult to enforce. Instead, building must become cheaper. Wagmann has high hopes for a government led by the SPD. With the Awohnbau-Genossenschaft, the social association is now building itself. Wagmann believes that Berlin should support the cooperative concept even more. The main problem is the high land prices. Investment grants would be an option. Wagmann hopes that an active social policy will continue, as was the case recently in the Ministry of Labor and Family Affairs, to prevent people from becoming homeless. Awo’s emergency housing aid is one of the most important institutions. “If the social welfare cases are reduced, the state also has more money and can do other things.”

The climate protector

Open detailed view

For Willie Stiehler it is already five to twelve when it comes to climate protection. That is why he not only has clear demands on a new federal government. The managing director of the energy agency Ebersberg-Munich also connects this with the appeal not to waste time. The exit from fossil fuels and the expansion of renewable energies must be “significantly accelerated”. The construction of photovoltaic systems on the roof of one’s own house must be made as unbureaucratic as possible. Climate-friendly economic activity must be rewarded in a targeted manner. “We need nationwide uniform distance rules for wind turbines, the end of exemptions and easier opportunities for citizens to participate in the construction and operation of wind turbines.” Excess energy from wind and solar energy must flow into the production of hydrogen. Sharing, for example in car sharing, has to play a bigger role. “Here a new government must adapt tax law and legal requirements and enable a more pronounced culture of togetherness.” The further expansion of motorways, on the other hand, should be scrutinized, as more money was needed for local transport.

The families

Children are a risk of poverty – that sounds trite. But the sentence is all too true. Albert Fierlbeck can confirm this from his own experience. The managing director of the “Donum Vitae” counseling center in Haar experiences how low-income families and, above all, single parents struggle in a region with high rents like Munich. Some lived for four years in a one-room apartment. Fierlbeck calls for more social housing to be built. He would find a higher minimum wage good, and he would also like a citizen-friendly administration. The processing of housing benefit applications should not take months. Many who speak German badly or not at all are overwhelmed with filling out forms. There are still too few childcare places to enable single parents to work, and flexible childcare times. Too often nurses on shift work have to ask themselves: “How do I manage to accommodate the child when I go to work myself?”

The youth

From the point of view of Deniz Dadli, head of the youth center “Planet O” in Oberschleissheim, politics in Berlin must now look for a reliable and permanent exchange with young people. It is not enough to go on an advertising tour with ballpoint pens six weeks before an election. The young people recorded exactly when they were disregarded. From Dadli’s point of view, it would be important to lower the voting age to 16 years in order to enable more participation. The pandemic clearly showed how children and young people suffered from social inequality. “If the parents can no longer pay for the apartment,” then they felt it immediately. Dadli also sees the unequal conditions in schools and sports facilities in the district as serious and unjust. Schoolchildren in rich communities like Unterföhring or Grünwald would grow up under different, better circumstances. The federal government must set “minimum standards”.