In June, Berlin-linke/">Berlin Left lead candidate Elif Eralp named six priorities for the city’s cultural sector, including support for independent artists and community spaces, better working conditions, transparent funding decisions, and new laws on workspaces and cultural funding. She also called for culture spending to reach three percent of the city budget over the long term.
But culture is absent from the 25 projects the party has selected as central to a coalition agreement, according to the results of its latest state party conference. The 76-page document mentions culture only three times. The party says the numbering of its 25 priorities does not indicate their order of importance, but the list includes no specific cultural funding proposals.
Other items on the list include implementing the referendum on expropriating large housing companies, bringing back a wealth tax, promoting democracy projects through a dedicated law, and establishing a state school psychology programme.
The omission has raised concern about the future of cultural support in Berlin. The city’s cultural offerings include museums, theatres, opera houses, venues and festivals, and the article notes that they contribute both to residents’ lives and to tourism, which is economically significant for the city.
The Left entered the campaign promising to address Berlin’s housing crisis, while culture was already a secondary issue for the party and its political rivals. The article argues that its apparent absence from the party’s current agenda touches on the city’s identity.
Sources: FAZ.