Housing as a political issue: Expropriation plans of the left in Berlin and constitutional borders

There is no entitlement to cheap housing in a prime location. As well as? There is no claim that a property or share will increase in value. Nevertheless, no one can deny that housing is a central issue. One that can win elections.

This is not only shown by the Left's recent victory in Berlin. Peter Feldmann, an SPD man completely unknown to the general public at the time, won the mayoral election in Frankfurt against the then incumbent Hesse Interior Minister Boris Rhein (CDU) with the slogan “Cheaper Living”.

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For the vast majority of people, this is a question of life because a significant portion of their income is usually spent on rent or loans. Without a doubt, where and how to live is a private decision. But land is also a public matter. It's about dependencies and power.

Notable statements about ownership

The reorganization of Germany after the collapse therefore contains remarkable and understandable statements about property. First of all, it is a fundamental right. A right to freedom. This also applies to inheritance law. The left should understand this first.

Every intervention by the state requires justification. At the same time, however, the Basic Law stipulates: "Property is an obligation. Its use should also serve the common good." The Basic Law also recognizes expropriations, but “only for the benefit of the general public” and only against legally regulated, fair compensation. Furthermore, land, natural resources and means of production can be transferred into common property through socialization.

But that does not mean that the Basic Law specifies a socialist model. On the contrary: it grants freedoms such as property, which the legislature must balance.

The expropriation of large housing companies, especially in Berlin, is an old, popular project. The Left now wants to implement a Berlin referendum on this. A commission gave its legal approval. In fact, such plans are not unconstitutional per se. The design is crucial.

Politically, a left-wing government may of course ask itself how it wants to manage compensation of up to 40 billion euros. She can't get past it. And perhaps it also plays a role in how affordable housing is created. Through expropriations – or through better conditions for building? Companies are already thinking more carefully about future location and investment decisions. The tenants in Berlin, the city that is deeply in trouble, would be the losers of an expropriation policy.

In another area, the left apparently relies more on limitless freedom and milieus that have a different view of the German raison d'état. You should therefore be able to say anything, including against Israel, of course. Here too you have to look closely.

The demand for “freedom for Palestine” is by no means unconstitutional; this of course also applies to wearing Palestinian symbols. Incitement to hatred is punishable. This in turn can be expressed in the fact that Jews and Israel are denied the right to exist.

Celebrate genocide?

Contact guilt is, of course, a political category. So anyone who celebrates with Jew-haters and has their photo taken with those who cheer for genocide must behave accordingly and face the consequences. Of course, a top candidate in particular who is preparing to take on government responsibility in the German capital is under pressure to justify what is happening in her party and through her party.

There can be no prescribed stance on any issue in a free country, including the Middle East conflict. There is already a lot of debate about the official stance - Israel's security as a German reason of state does not yet provide a concrete answer to how to deal with the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant against Netanyahu.

You can assess the situation quite differently, everyone can call barbaric what they like - and who would deny that that also depends on personal experiences. Did you lose family in a bomb attack on a refugee camp or in the Israeli army? And as a politician, as a party, you can of course address voters specifically, even in a simple, striking way - everyone does that.

Everyone decorates themselves as they can. But you have to hold on to that. And pay attention to the same standards. Anyone who accuses the AfD of the extremists it surrounds itself with should look in the mirror. The Berliners did not choose hatred of Jews. However, the strongest party in the capital must be asked about its attitude to the dignity and equality of all and examine how it deals with extremists. For the others: Whether in Berlin or elsewhere – no one who loves our basic order should lend a hand to inhumane politics.