By the right, march
Berlin's police are investigating how a group of 70 neo-Nazis managed to march unhindered through the Brandenburg Gate on August 25th. Although such marches, like other political demonstrations, are legal in Berlin, they must be approved by the police. They are also banned from locations considered politically volatile or historically poignant. The Gate was a popular stage for Nazi parades during the Hitler years and later became a cold-war symbol of Berlin's divided status. This was the second time the Gate hosted such an event in recent memory; a march in January 2000 caused widespread outrage.
The August 25th demonstration was legally scheduled to take place outside the nearby British embassy. But after the few police officers assigned to the gathering had left, the neo-Nazis moved to the Brandenburg Gate. By the time reinforcements arrived, the neo-Nazis had departed. Tourists who witnessed the spectacle were stunned, and a full inquiry is pending. Otto Schily, Germany's interior minister, is busy drafting legislation to outlaw neo-Nazi demonstrations altogether, despite criticism from civil libertarians.
The great divide
Horst Köhler, Germany's president and the former head of the International Monetary Fund, is used to speaking plainly on economics. So he seemed unprepared for the fuss that followed his September 13th declaration in Focus, a news magazine, that there may never be uniformly high living-standards across Germany, and that pouring more subsidies into poorer regions would impose intolerable debt on future generations. Many interpreted his comments as meaning that Germany's east is destined to remain poorer than the west. Critics attacked them as unhelpful at a time of national economic hardship which has hit the former East Germany in particular. A recent government-commissioned report found that since reunification, huge cash injections into the east have done little to create new jobs or industry there.
Old divisions seem to be resurfacing. Wessis are resentful of the continuing costs of unification, while Ossis retort that unemployment has hit them harder. Eastern protests against the Social Democrat (SPD)-led coalition government's benefit-cutting Hartz IV reforms have been particularly fierce. Support levels for both the SPD and the main opposition, the Christian Democratic Union, dropped in state elections in Brandenburg and Saxony on September 19th, while far-right and communist parties gained votes. One in five Germans would actually like to see the Berlin Wall re-erected, according to a poll published by the Forsa institute on September 8th.
Palace of culture
Both Berliners and visitors are divided on whether Berlin’s Palace of the Republic is an eyesore or a priceless piece of history. But one thing is certain: the drab metallic cube that once served as the seat of East Germany's parliament is the hottest, hippest cultural address in town, and officials have backtracked on plans to destroy it. Artists have been rushing to book the empty carcass for exhibitions, theatrical productions and performance art, making it a boon for the bankrupt capital. So the wrecking ball is at bay, at least until February.
Built in 1976, the building was lauded for its cold versatility. In the summer of 1990, it was the scene of the vote by East German parliamentarians to join the West. The building had been closed for 13 years while toxic asbestos was removed from its inner core. Now, what was once a hated icon of communism has become a symbol of Ostalgie (nostalgia for East Germany). Berlin's government has proposed levelling it in order to rebuild the 19th-century baroque Hohenzollern palace, which once stood on the site but was damaged in the second world war and later demolished by the communists. But a group calling itself the “Association to Save the Palace of the Republic” is fighting this plan.
Absence of capital
Berlin's residents are getting poorer, according to a new government survey. In 2003, 589,400 residents (one in six) got by on less than €600 ($725) a month, or half the minimum wage, says Petra Leuschner, Berlin's social-affairs minister. This represents a 1.5% increase on 2002. Most have been unemployed for a while, unable to find work in the stagnant German jobs market.
Rich Berliners are also becoming more of a rarity. In January 2001, 482 residents earned annual salaries of 1m Deutschmarks or more, while only 371 earned a salary of more than €500,000 in January 2004. The figures underline Berlin's lack of substantial industry. While many companies have opened offices in the new capital, relatively few large firms or high-paid bosses are based there.
Swapping credentials
After a 13-year absence, Iraq has an ambassador in Berlin. Alaa Abdul Majid Hussain al-Hashimi presented his credentials to Mr Köhler on August 26th. In a reciprocal move, Germany sent Bernd Erbel, a career diplomat, to Baghdad as the first full German ambassador since 1991, when relations were cut during the first Gulf war. Germany reinstalled a charge d’affaires in Baghdad in 1999, but that arrangement ended when war recommenced in 2003. Mr Erbel, who speaks fluent Arabic, will be living in Bagdhad’s posh Mansour neighbourhood with his Lebanese wife. Their large house will be barricaded with hundreds of sandbags.
Bear-ly caged
A wily bear named Juan escaped his pen in Berlin's zoo on August 29th. Oblivious to the Sunday crowds, the 110kg Andean spectacled bear used a fallen log to cross a moat and hoist himself over the short fence that separates his pen from the public. He first went to a children's playground, where he paused to inspect a slide as terrified parents grabbed their children and ran, some pausing to snap a quick photo. While zookeepers prepared a tranquiliser, they rushed to distract Juan by placing a bicycle in his path. No one was harmed.
Animal experts declared that since caged life is often boring, Juan had probably been eyeing the playground for a while. As this is the second time in a few months that a potentially dangerous animal had broken free—in June, a gorilla named Bokito scampered over a high fence but was quickly recaptured—a review of all enclosures has been launched.
All in order
Despite the city's economic malaise, Berlin's government has found the funds for a new city patrol to keep order on the capital's streets. From September 1st, the 34 officers of the Kiezstreifen have been dealing with the petty annoyances of urban life, including litter, dog mess, vandalism, alcohol and drug abuse, disruptive youths, homelessness and general “thoughtlessness”. Their numbers may be small, but ranks are due to swell to 200 by the end of the year. The idea is popular among Berliners—a poll published in the Berliner Zeitung newspaper showed over 80% support for the new force.
