“Agreement broken” – Left cancels conversation with Vonovia boss at short notice

A planned conversation between Left Party leader Luigi Pantisano and Vonovia CEO Luka Mucic about housing policy in Berlin failed. According to its own information, the Left canceled the meeting planned for midday at short notice because the real estate group had refused to allow a journalist to take part and was insisting on a conversation behind closed doors.

From the beginning, “an independent journalist was involved in the communication on Vonovia’s initiative and was part of the agreement.” “I regret that Vonovia broke the agreement,” said Pantisano.

Vonovia contradicted this representation. Spokeswoman Nina Henckel said in response to a dpa request that journalistic coverage of the confidential conversation was not agreed to from the start. “Of course, both sides could have spoken publicly about the exchange afterwards.”

The Left won the House of Representatives election in Berlin a few weeks ago and wants to combine large real estate groups in the fight against the housing crisis in the capital. The party repeatedly attacks Vonovia directly and accuses the company of “inexplicable rent increases, opaque utility bills or months of waiting for long overdue repairs.” With regard to Vonovia, Pantisano spoke of “organized crime, of rent mafia”.

Vonovia boss does not believe in expropriation

Both sides made it clear that they were fundamentally still willing to talk. Vonovia CEO Mucic does not assume that a corresponding law on socialization would exist before the Constitutional Court. “I am convinced that our constitution is not compatible with the planned expropriation,” he said in an interview with WELT.

However, a corresponding policy would still have consequences for the company. “It is part of corporate responsibility to carefully weigh up the framework conditions for investments,” Mucic continued. "We will of course finish building the approximately 1,000 new apartments that we have already started. But I have to weigh up new investment decisions."