Berlin: a problematic city goes to the polls

"Dit is Berlin" (That's Berlin), sigh residents, new arrivals and even tourists when they have their doubts about the city.

The sentence is a kind of meditative and calming mantra. It's used when public transport breaks down, when building sites become the ultimate test of patience or when it takes months to get an appointment at the city administrators' office to register a car. It's in these moments that, as a resident of the German capital, one sees just how overburdened Berlin is by its own dynamic development.

Currently, two subjects dominate discussions here. One is the billion-euro money pit BER, the city's new over-budget and behind schedule airport. The other topic that has everyone up in arms is the state of Berlin's schools.

Birth rates have exploded in the city's gentrified neighborhoods, and now they need schools. Meanwhile, children are being taught in converted shipping containers. In other schools, the walls and ceilings are crumbling or dripping. For some members of this new generation of Berlin residents, or Berliners, their educational experience is akin to a trauma.

Becoming a global metropolis

This having been said, to be completely fair in this discussion, it has to be noted that supposedly well-functioning cities such as Munich, Frankfurt, Paris or London cannot be compared to Berlin. For none of their cityscapes are so dominated by the tangible scars of the past.

Once a cosmopolitan city, then destroyed, and then the intersection of Cold War powers for decades thereafter, in 1989 Berlin was forced to become the laboratory for the great grafting together of what had been East and West into a new reunified Germany.

Now - long after the hangover that came when the Berlin Wall fell and the ensuing "Berlin-hype" - the city is finally on its way back into the global big leagues.

Since 2000, people from around Europe and the wider world have been moving here in droves. The city is currently growing by some 40,000 residents per year, presenting an enormous infrastructure challenge.

In terms of construction, the consequences of the city's decades-long east-west division have yet to be overcome some 25 years on.

Federal capital, tourism mecca, sex and party metropolis, start-up magnet - these are all common descriptions of life in Berlin, and they illustrate just what is going on here and what must be managed.

Many Berlin residents are simply stressed out and wonder where they even fit into this new world.

Endless building site

Former Mayor Klaus Wowereit's famous "Poor, but sexy" slogan is only partially true today. Economic growth is healthy compared to national averages, unemployment is poised to finally drop below 10 percent and tax revenue is high. Yet Berlin is still dependent upon other states in Germany's fiscal equalization scheme, and it has 60 billion euros ($67 billion) in unpaid debt.

Out across the rooftops of Berlin, the skyline is dominated by one building crane after another. It has been that way for years. Berlin is building, building, building. Meanwhile, a number of skyscrapers, the epitome of big city life, have sprung up around the city as well, and more are planned.

At the same time, more people-oriented projects are being pursued in many neighborhoods around the city, and the state government is supporting experiments with new forms of communal living. There is a conscious effort to ensure that the city is not simply handed over to investors.

Social Democrat Michael Müller, who hopes to win re-election as the city's premier, or governing mayor, introduced the idea of a special tax on foreign investors during the election campaign. The goal of the tax would be to limit the scope of real estate speculation.

The topic of illegal holiday sublets is also being tackled in Berlin - for there is a very real housing shortage in the city. Airbnb can no longer push its business model as easily here as it can in other major cities. People know and say that Berlin has the chance to learn from the mistakes of other metropolises, and to remain a livable and affordable city.

Election prediction: SPD leads

With all the city's variety, it's no surprise that preferences in the political landscape are as disparate as in any other state in the country. The SPD is the only party that has consistently garnered more than 20 percent approval ratings in opinion polls prior to the election.

The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Greens and now the Alternative for Germany (AfD) are all lagging slightly behind, and are on par with one another, although the CDU seems assured of second place.

National political issues are playing a subordinate role in the election, as there are more than enough local problems to deal with. Berlin residents are traditionally a dissatisfied bunch of voters. That has also been evident in the run-up to this election.

Most residents say they would not re-elect Michael Müller as premier if they were voting directly. Most are also unhappy with the Senate, Berlin's state government. They had hoped for much better governance from the ruling SPD-CDU coalition.

Yet the 51-year-old incumbent wants to continue to run the city. He has already publicly endorsed a coalition between his SPD and the Greens. However, polls suggest that such a coalition would still not be enough to provide a governing majority. That's because of the changes to the distribution of majorities caused by the AfD. It therefore seems most probable that a three-way coalition between the SPD, Greens and the Left will be the result.

But nothing has been decided yet. Could the CDU eke out a victory in the end? In some polls, SPD and CDU were in a neck-and-neck race as late as August. What would a ruling coalition look like then?

However the vote goes, only one thing is certain: An ample number of Berlin residents will be upset about the result. That's Berlin.