Berlin: Regional
selfishness blocking economic upturn
-Heinz Boschek, IN-Press, Germany
Now that there is finally light at the
end of the tunnel for Berlin’s economy, the firms in Berlin and in the surrounding
state of Brandenburg are telling the politicians in the two states that it is time they
finally realized that they are part of a single economic region. Two years after the
voters of Brandenburg blocked the merger of the two states, the authorities keep tripping
each other up. The economic investment corporations seem to work as follows: If the
investor doesn’t come here, I’ll make sure my neighbor doesn’t have him
either. "In economic terms, we are one region anyway. Nothing else makes sense,
"’wrote Gegenbauer, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, in a recent
critical letter to the politicians of both states, and called on them to attempt a new
merger in 2004 and to cooperate as far as possible until that time. According to
Gegenbauer, investors do not come only to Berlin because of its growing importance as a
service center and its large pool of well-trained workers. They also include Brandenburg
in their calculations, because many companies need large, low cost real estate in the
vicinity of Berlin. "I’m sure," said Gegenbauer, "that when Coca-Cola
decided to direct its German operations from Berlin, it did not have a provincial concept
of the economic region, based solely on the territory of the city itself, and nor did
Mercedes when it moved its sales headquarters from Stuttgart to Berlin and located the
production of engines for the Smart car in Berlin-Marienfelde."
This thinking also formed part of the
decision taken this (read last year’s) spring by the aero-engine manufacturer BMW
Rolls Royce-BRR- to expand its capacities in Dahlewitz, Brandenburg, and to fully relocate
its management from Oberyrsel near Frankfurt/Main to the neighboring part of Berlin at the
end of 1998. BRR director Klaus Nittinger had this to say: "here we have room for our
expansion plans and, as Berlin develops in to an airport hub, we have an important market
on our doorstep. Berlin and Brandenberg are basically condemned by nature to have
synergies".
However, the politicians of the two states
are far from taking joint advantage of this fact. On the contrary, the disappointment
following the failed merger seems to be causing every one to think no further than
himself. For example, the Berlin Senate decided in mid-March 1998 to raise the threshold
from tender procedures for public works from DM 200,000 to DM 600,000. This means that
more contracts in Berlin can be awarded without a public invitation for bids. The
objective is clear: to cut out the competition from Brandenburg so that they can’t
share the fruits of Berlin’s contracts. In Potsdam, Burkhard Dreher,
Brandenburg’s economics minister, reacted unusually harshly. If the Berlin Senate did
not withdraw its "’unfriendly act", Brandenberg would call for an end to
the EU maximum support rates and supply Brussels with proof of misuse of support funding
by Berlin. But all Dreher achieved was a limitation of the Senate decision till the end of
this year. So the dispute is still smoldering on.
Jurgen Linde, the minister in Potsdam,
regrets that the Grand Coalition of CDU and SPD which is governing Berlin is n able to
contribute to a responsible policy for the region as a whole e.g. for an integrated public
transport system for Berlin and Brandenberg.
Another argument that is still ongoing is the
one between the two states on the disposal and payment for shipments of waste from Berlin
to the surrounding area. Initially, Berlin said it was ready to keep using Vorketzin and
Schoneiche, the waste dumps in Brandenberg that Berlin used back in the days of the GDR.
The cooperation seemed to rest on a secure foundation in the form of MEAB, the jointly
owned waste Disposal Company that was to manage the landfill sites of both parties.
Trusting in this, Brandenberg invested in the renovation and modernization of the
facilities. Matthias Platzeck, Brandenberg’s environment minister, worked out that,
given an annual volume of 360,000 tones of waste from Berlin and the appropriate fees or
that, this investment would pay off. But when Berlin’s Senate, which was trying to
introduce austerity measures, realized that the cheap rates from GDR times would no longer
apply, it left the neighboring state and its investment out in the cold. It only supplied
100,000 tones of Vorketzin and Schoneiche, and dumped most of its waste at three sites of
its own in the east of Berlin. In order to do so, the Senate reneged on the original
agreement to make these landfill sites part of MEAB. Company directors and business
associations could only shake their heads at such provincialism. According to Gegenbauer:
"There is no alternative. The people need to be forced to cooperate by the fact that
they are living in a single state. So we need a new attempt to merge Berlin and
Brandenberg."
A survey by the DIW shows clearly that, for
example, that there is a high degree of integration between manufacturing companies based
around Berlin and nearby suppliers. No matter what the public administrations of Berlin
and Brandenberg are doing to harm each other, every second company in the area surrounding
Berlin prefers to purchase upstream goods from other firms in the area or directly from
Berlin. The unity of the economic area has become a reality and is far ahead of the
political situation. So the pressure is growing. It looks like that there will indeed be a
second attempt to merge the two states in 2004.
It should also be said that Berlin’
Senate has improved the conditions for business. The most important measure, and one which
could provide a model for all of Germany, is the decision, by the two-thirds majority need
to change the constitution, to adopt a radical reform of the city districts. Out of 23
expensive and cumbersome district administrations, whose complex planning and
authorization bureaucracy frequently deterred investors, only 12 will remain. That is the
deepest cut in public administration in the history of the Federal Republic. Berlin’s
parliamentarians deserve respect for this, even if they did spend many years tormenting
themselves and the public about this project. Companies will certainly thank them for it.
Helene Grimaud: A pianist
unlike any other
-Alain Lompech, French journalist
In the world of music, Helene Grimaud is a
unique figure. She is loved by the general public and the subject of critical acclaim in
France and abroad. A charming personality, both shy and modest, passionate and endowed
with exceptional performing skills, she pursues her career according to very personal
demands: her need for nature, her love for wolves and a liking for romantic composers.
Helene Grimaud was 15 years old when she
released her first record in 1885. She had not attracted particular attention at the
National Music and Dance Conservatoire in Paris, where she was a pupil of Jacques Rouvier.
Before that she was a pupil of Pierre Barbizet at the Marseilles Conservatoire. She was
fifteen years old and recording Serge Rachmaninov’s Sonata no.2, a dense work
requiring first-rate piano capacities, knowledge of the science of music, of the
arrangement of sound levels, a superior idea of form and great ability to cover the
distance.
From this end of year examination, Helene
Grimaud emerged victorious. She overcame all the difficulties, handling an adroitly
frenzied piano, masterly organizing this great cycle accentuated with such difficulty by
pianists less gifted than this intrepid young women.
Had her career been launched? Not yet. One
record released by an unknown young performer, however remarkable it may be, could not
open wide the gates to her career. With a modesty as well as a feeling of misgiving that
mark this charming personality, Helene Grimaud took the risk in the middle of the summer
of 1987, of introducing herself to Jorge Bolet, who was giving public lessons in
performance at the International Piano festival in La Roque d’Antheron-couth of
France. While she was already known to specialists, Grimaud played for the great American
pianist originally from Cuba. What did she play? On reading Dante, by Franz Liszt. And
embarking on this major piece in front of Jorge Bolet was not without danger. He was
thoroughly taken with her. We shall long remember what he had to say to us that very
evening, without any prompting: "You were there this afternoon, I saw you in the
room. I want to tell your readers that I have not met such an extraordinary talent as this
for a long time".
Helene Grimaud has had other highly formative
encounters, regularly attending the festival of the Lithuanian violinist Gidon Kremer at
Lockenhaus- Austria- and numerous festivals and concerts throughout the world. She has
played with greatest conductor and orchestras. Today she lives in the country in the
United States and is one of the most popular artists in France for the sensitivity with
which she plays, her spontaneity, her ability to communicate with the audience and in
capturing attention as soon as she walks on to the stage. She is also known for another
reason: her passion for wolves. Helene Grimaud is studying the behavior of this animal,
having taken all the necessary exams. It is not a hobby. Helene Grimaud is a corresponding
member of several scientific organizations. A solitary, secretive person, she shares her
life with a pack of wolves, from which she never strays far too long. (Label France: N14,
October 2000). |
