Four months after its constitution, the criticism of the working methods of the commission of experts for the successful referendum on the socialization of large housing companies is getting louder. With Katrin Schmidberger and Niklas Schenker, the housing policy spokespersons of the Greens and Left parties in Berlin are calling for the Commission’s rules of procedure to be adjusted.
This and the way the commission works contradict the Senate’s decision to appoint it, the two deputies said on Tuesday. This states that the work of the Commission should take place “in principle in public”.
“We have to draw conclusions, the loss of trust is already there,” said Schmidberger, referring to the work of the commission’s specially set up office. According to the Senate decision, this should support the work of the commission and take into account the interest in information of the initiative “Deutsche Wohnen und Co. expropriate” (DWenteignen).
Schmidberger criticized that the position in the city development administration and occupied by its employees does not do justice to the latter. She demanded that the office should in future include a member of the recently criticized “DWenteignen” initiative.
Schenker also called for the rules of procedure to be amended and is pushing for the commission’s meetings to be broadcast live. It was “absurd” to deal with such a central topic for the city behind closed doors, criticized Schenker and spoke of a “reversal of the transparency concern”.
In fact, in its decision to appoint the Senate aimed to make the processes transparent so that “the results can find a high level of public acceptance.” According to information from the Tagesspiegel, a first draft of the rules of procedure – presented by Commission Chief Herta Däubler-Gmelin – clearly contradicted this. It has been weakened, but the Commission only meets in public in exceptional cases.
It is also criticized that so far neither information about the content of the now three working sessions nor about their location and duration has been published. Information about the meetings of the committee held on Monday and Tuesday could also not be found on the specially created website of the office.
The urban development administration, which was particularly criticized for the location of the office, said: “The members of the commission decide independently and without instructions from a senate administration about the organization, working methods and all communication.” And further: “The senate expects that the senate decision implemented by the Commission.”
Finance Senator Daniel Wesener (Greens) said on Tuesday when asked that the requirement must apply “that what is being worked on there does not take place in the quiet little room.” An employee of the office confirmed to the Tagesspiegel on Tuesday that the commission was taking the issue Transparency “very serious”.
