New homes and an Olympics bid: What the SPD-Green coalition has in store for Hamburg

Having governed together since 2015, representatives from the Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens were keen to highlight the ways in which stability and good working relationships would continue to benefit Hamburg. 

Peter Tschentscher (SPD), who will seek re-election as First Mayor by the Hamburg Parliament on May 7th, said that federal states and cities in Germany which pursue a long-term strategy have been successful because they are in a position to master digitalisation and demographic change and ensure that everyone can afford to live.

Hamburg's second mayor, Green Party politician Katharina Fegebank, said the parties had managed to reach a good agreement from which the whole city would benefit. 

READ ALSO: 'Beautiful city, unfriendly people' - How foreigners feel about living in Hamburg

The SPD will continue to provide the new government with its mayor and seven senators, while the Greens will provide four senators. The only new face is Maryam Blumenthal of the Greens, who will take on the role of science senator.

Here are a few of the changes in store for Hamburg. 

What are the plans of the not-so-new coalition?

Hamburg Olympics

The coalition agreement includes a long section on planned efforts to improve access to sports in the city, and concludes with the following, stirring statement: “We support the German Olympic Sports Confederation's bid to host the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Germany and are striving to host the Games in Hamburg and other locations, particularly in northern Germany.”

The German Olympics Sports Confederation (DOSB) is actively exploring the possibility of a bid for 2026 or 2040. The coalition agreement goes on to say that the city will hold a referendum on hosting the Olympics to support its bid for the games. 

READ ALSO: Why Hamburg has just been named Germany's 'happiest' place

Less bureaucracy

The incoming government is determined to reduce bureaucracy in the city, particularly around planning. In future, structural replacement projects (such as bridges) will be exempt from the planning process, and environmental impact assessments will be simplified and significantly streamlined. 

Migration policy

In the SPD-Greens coalition pact, the parties emphasise that Hamburg is "open to the world", adding that the city's strength lies in its diversity. 

To this end, the new government says it wants to tackle discrimination with a state-wide anti-discrimination law and special counselling centres and take steps to boost the "welcome culture" for migrants.

In recent years, Hamburg has already reorganised its immigration office to try and improve services for new arrivals.

"We are continuing along this path in order to be able to provide people with even better individual, prompt and personalised advice on the legal aspects and specific options relating to their personal situation and to simplify and debureaucratise the necessary procedures," the coalition pact states.

The government also wants to draft plans for a future 'House of Migration' in the city, which will aim to foster intercultural exchange and dialogue.

On the asylum side, however, there have been moves to toughen up procedures. 

Germany’s first Dublin Centre opened in Hamburg on February 12th this year and is designed to expedite the transfer of refugees to other EU states responsible for processing their applications. This, along with calls for more deportations, has been fiercely criticised by Green Party members. 

READ ALSO: How is Germany's future government planning to shake up immigration?

10,000 new apartments a year

The issue of housing comes up again and again in the 148-page document. To reach the target of 10,000 new apartments a year, the parties have agreed to introduce new building standards intended to accelerate construction, in addition to simplifying the planning process.

In future, when considering planning applications from an environmental point of view, the emphasis will be on ensuring that species are protected, rather than individual animals.

Hamburg’s property transfer tax will also be reduced.

Transport – and a master plan for parking

School children will continue to travel on public transport for free, and the new government plans to introduce low-cost tickets for senior citizens.

The city is committed to making further improvements to cycling infrastructure but will also invest in roads and the digitalisation of traffic management. Parking spaces in public, private, and commercial areas in Hamburg will be recorded to help planners design more effective measures to ease pressure on parking.

Education

Plans for education are detailed - if not particularly ambitious.

Schools are called on to use artificial intelligence to improve support for individual children - and to do more to raise awareness of issues around the use of cell phones and tablets more generally.

In order to make this possible, the government will broaden training opportunities for teachers, and continue improving the “digital infrastructure” of schools.

More children, especially in grades five and six, will be offered discounted lunches, and lessons in the native languages of children from foreign countries will be expanded “as necessary.”

In addition, a visit to at least one memorial site will become mandatory for all schoolchildren in the state. 

READ ALSO: How expensive is childcare across Germany?

What didn’t make it into the agreement?

The Elbtower was as conspicuous by its absence from the agreement as it is from the Hamburg skyline.

At a press conference, Tschentscher explained that the high-rise development - which has been put on hold indefinitely - was a private investment and would not be completed at the city’s expense.

Hamburg is committed to creating a large natural history museum, however, and the new government is currently considering the Elbtower as a potential location.  

The coalition agreement also avoids any reference to the proposed S-Bahn tunnel under Dammtor.

All in favour?

Every one of roughly 300 SPD delegates voted in favour of the agreement and only about 25 of 350 Green delegates voted against. Despite this apparent show of unity, some delegates from both parties voiced misgivings on issues including the treatment of asylum seekers and homeless people. 

Some Green and environmental groups also worry that the Greens made too many concessions to the SPD during the negotiations, including agreeing to lower energy standards to bring down the cost of construction, and to weakening elements of Hamburg’s mobility transition strategy.

Malte Siegert, head of the Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU), also criticised the ‘radical curtailment’ of the rights of environmental associations to play an active role in planning processes.