Popular (Berlin) Mayor Set for Easy Re-Election on Sunday

[marmar]

from Der Spiegel:



Berlin has pressing economic and social problems and its mayor, Klaus Wowereit, has done little to solve them over the last decade. But the Social Democrat who has helped turn the "poor but sexy" city into a major cultural hub looks sure to be re-elected -- because Berliners like him.

Berlin's unemployment rate is twice the German national average, its schools are ranked among the worst in the country, the local commuter rail system is notoriously unreliable, cars are set ablaze almost nightly by unknown arsonists and the city is being overwhelmed by tourists and, worse, real estate investors who are making rents unaffordable for ordinary people.

One might think that a mayor who has presided over all these problems, and often seems to shrug them off, would be voted out of office at the first opportunity. But no, Klaus Wowereit, who has governed the German capital for the past decade, is all but certain to be re-elected on Sunday for a third five-year term.

His victory in Berlin, one of Germany's 16 regional states, may even boost his chances of being nominated as the Social Democratic Party's (SPD) candidate for the chancellorship in the 2013 general election, although he seems a tad too phlegmatic too take on the challenge. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,786061,00.html