The article describes how the political enemy images of the center right in Germany have changed: Instead of against the Greens and the Bionade Biedermeier culture in Prenzlauer Berg, criticism is now directed more strongly against a left in Neukölln that is perceived as red and partly pro-Palestinian, with Markus Söder's attack on Berlin serving as an example of this change.
AI-generated summary
Berlin has served as a projection surface for political enemy images for years. At first clichés about Prenzlauer Berg and the cargo bike bohemians dominated the debates, then Neukölln, clan crime and expropriation plans moved to the center.
Z+ (subscription content); Debates about Berlin: Evil has moved and now lives in Neukölln
Goodbye, Bionade-Biedermeier and cargo bike bohemians: With the election victory of the Left, the Berlin clichés of the center right are changing from green to red. This shift represents more.
From ZEIT No. 42/2026
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Article summary
Berlin has served as a projection surface for political enemy images for years. At first clichés about Prenzlauer Berg and the cargo bike bohemians dominated the debates, then Neukölln, clan crime and expropriation plans moved to the center. Markus Söder therefore sharply attacked Berlin and even questioned the state financial equalization system. The author believes that some concerns about the Berlin Left are justified, but above all sees this as a change in conservative images of opponents. Instead of against the Greens, the center right is now more strongly directed against a left that is marked as red and partly pro-Palestinian.
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Everyone always has an opinion about a capital city. Accordingly, Berlin has already experienced a lot of debate-defining clichés during the years of the Berlin Republic: First, the Bionade Biedermeier in Prenzlauer Berg blocked the sidewalks while having brunch. And when the breakfast dates produced blonde children with expensive hairstyles, the next enemy of the common people set in motion as the so-called cargo bike bohemians. Berlin's image between "Bullerbü" (Christian Lindner) and Babylon disturbed the people's soul in the province. “Kreuzberg is not Germany, Gillamoos is Germany,” shouted the then opposition leader Friedrich Merz at a Lower Bavarian folk festival in 2023.
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These questions were created using artificial intelligence based on the article text. Occasionally errors may occur.
The article answers these questions:
How have the political enemy images around Berlin changed?
What does Söder's attack on Berlin show about the center right?
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