Ten years in office, Berlin's mayor still standing strong
16/06/2011
Submitted by
ILGA-Europe
Original article: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15157220,00.html
Berlin's popular and openly gay Mayor Klaus Wowereit marks a decade since taking office on Thursday, and his remarkable political success continues to puzzle those who said he'd never make it.
When journalists report on the politician Klaus Wowereit, the headlines often sound apolitical. That may have something to do with the fact that many who never believed he would make it are still amazed by his success. Many an analysis of Wowereit's secret to success end in helpless surrender. A prime example is a May 2005 headline from the newspaper Zeit: "The international press is filled with enthusiasm for Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit. Why, oh why?"
This could be because the view from outside was and is entirely different from the view from within. When Time magazine adorns its cover page with Wowereit's likeness, the man's charisma is capable of successfully selling the Berlin brand on a global scale. The city is, in the eyes of many, "poor but sexy." That quote, of course, comes from Wowereit himself.
Spoken like an adman
Klaus Wowereit and Tom CruiseWowereit has been a master of showing off his city's coolness
No professional in advertising could have better formulated the unique mix of Berlin: rich history, cheap rent, lavish art studios. The allure of the unfinished and temporary brings in people from all over the world. And even if the vast majority of the 3.4 million Berliners profit little from this, they have come to terms with it.
"Wowi," as he is affectionately known, takes care of the day-to-day in a city with hundreds of thousands of unemployed and welfare recipients. Or at least that's how it looks. The people should come to him with their worries and hardships, the 57-year-old says: "I don't want to have the kind of persona where people see me and say, 'Oh, here comes the mayor - quick, bow before him!"
The tabloid press has long ceased to get worked up about the "reigning party master," who reportedly never misses a celebration. Indeed, Wowereit has succeeded at playfully turning such campaigns against him into something positive. In his autobiography, published in 2007, the politician says he learned quickly that parties were "socially relevant appointments." He stands by that to this day.
"... and that's good the way it is!"
His 300-page autobiography "...und das ist auch gut so," or "... and that's good the way it is," deals with politics only on the sidelines - and Wowereit would say the book's title applies to this fact as well.
Klaus Wowereit holds autobiographyThe mayor published his autobiography in 2007
The title comes from his public coming-out statement at a special meeting of his Social Democratic Party just days before his election on June 16, 2001: "I'm gay, and that's good the way it is." His words have since become a cherished motto of the gay rights movement in Germany.
Perhaps even bolder and more provocative than his outing was his controversial decision to form a coalition with the then-successor to the East German communists, the Party of Democratic Socialism, in 2002. When he won reelection four years later, he made the same decision. And he does it with the self-confidence of a man celebrated in the international press as the "smart big city boss" or "glamour guy."
Politician with entertainment value
In comparison, the newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung cautiously describes Wowereit as a "politician with entertainment value." Wowereit's counterpart in Barcelona, Joan Clos, would gladly have as many opportunities for show as the Berliner. He said in 2005 that he envied Wowereit for his political power in being both the premier of the city-state of Berlin and its mayor at the same time.
Thomas Staubhaar, director of the Hamburg Institute of International Economics, called Wowereit the "personified figurehead" in the competition of big cities. In numbers, he does quite well: 120,000 new jobs brought to Berlin between 2005 and 2009, also in creative fields like film, media and science. The city also reaps praise in the highest heavens at mega-events like the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics and, of course, the 2006 Fifa World Cup.
Klaus Wowereit hugs partner Jörn Kubicki Next to his partner Jörn Kubicki, Wowereit has become an icon of the gay rights movement
"One is allowed to be proud of himself"
Wowereit enjoys his esteem to the fullest. "One is allowed to be proud of himself," he once said. In September, he hopes to be elected mayor for a fourth time. If he manages to jump that hurdle, his next great test will come in June 2012, when Berlin's grand new airport is scheduled to open its runways. It's an investment in the booming metropolis that more people than just Wowereit hope will bring in greater returns.
The mayor describes the multi-billion-euro project in his own trademark blend of understatement and confidence. "We're not building a marble palace, but we're also not building a corrugated metal hut," he said of the airport. Rather, it's to be a sensible, functional airport that also shows off good architecture. Wowereit prophesied that the airport would become an international business card of sorts, like the central train station.
"Typical Berlin sass," grumble those who were always suspect of the capital city hype. For Klaus Wowereit, those kinds of people are the real grouches. Because naturally the residents of the city he governs are much friendlier than their reputation, he said in a survey by the magazine Geo Spezial: "We Berliners win people over with our charm and natural wit." Who would've thought?
Berlin's popular and openly gay Mayor Klaus Wowereit marks a decade since taking office on Thursday, and his remarkable political success continues to puzzle those who said he'd never make it.
When journalists report on the politician Klaus Wowereit, the headlines often sound apolitical. That may have something to do with the fact that many who never believed he would make it are still amazed by his success. Many an analysis of Wowereit's secret to success end in helpless surrender. A prime example is a May 2005 headline from the newspaper Zeit: "The international press is filled with enthusiasm for Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit. Why, oh why?"
This could be because the view from outside was and is entirely different from the view from within. When Time magazine adorns its cover page with Wowereit's likeness, the man's charisma is capable of successfully selling the Berlin brand on a global scale. The city is, in the eyes of many, "poor but sexy." That quote, of course, comes from Wowereit himself.
Spoken like an adman
Klaus Wowereit and Tom CruiseWowereit has been a master of showing off his city's coolness
No professional in advertising could have better formulated the unique mix of Berlin: rich history, cheap rent, lavish art studios. The allure of the unfinished and temporary brings in people from all over the world. And even if the vast majority of the 3.4 million Berliners profit little from this, they have come to terms with it.
"Wowi," as he is affectionately known, takes care of the day-to-day in a city with hundreds of thousands of unemployed and welfare recipients. Or at least that's how it looks. The people should come to him with their worries and hardships, the 57-year-old says: "I don't want to have the kind of persona where people see me and say, 'Oh, here comes the mayor - quick, bow before him!"
The tabloid press has long ceased to get worked up about the "reigning party master," who reportedly never misses a celebration. Indeed, Wowereit has succeeded at playfully turning such campaigns against him into something positive. In his autobiography, published in 2007, the politician says he learned quickly that parties were "socially relevant appointments." He stands by that to this day.
"... and that's good the way it is!"
His 300-page autobiography "...und das ist auch gut so," or "... and that's good the way it is," deals with politics only on the sidelines - and Wowereit would say the book's title applies to this fact as well.
Klaus Wowereit holds autobiographyThe mayor published his autobiography in 2007
The title comes from his public coming-out statement at a special meeting of his Social Democratic Party just days before his election on June 16, 2001: "I'm gay, and that's good the way it is." His words have since become a cherished motto of the gay rights movement in Germany.
Perhaps even bolder and more provocative than his outing was his controversial decision to form a coalition with the then-successor to the East German communists, the Party of Democratic Socialism, in 2002. When he won reelection four years later, he made the same decision. And he does it with the self-confidence of a man celebrated in the international press as the "smart big city boss" or "glamour guy."
Politician with entertainment value
In comparison, the newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung cautiously describes Wowereit as a "politician with entertainment value." Wowereit's counterpart in Barcelona, Joan Clos, would gladly have as many opportunities for show as the Berliner. He said in 2005 that he envied Wowereit for his political power in being both the premier of the city-state of Berlin and its mayor at the same time.
Thomas Staubhaar, director of the Hamburg Institute of International Economics, called Wowereit the "personified figurehead" in the competition of big cities. In numbers, he does quite well: 120,000 new jobs brought to Berlin between 2005 and 2009, also in creative fields like film, media and science. The city also reaps praise in the highest heavens at mega-events like the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics and, of course, the 2006 Fifa World Cup.
Klaus Wowereit hugs partner Jörn Kubicki Next to his partner Jörn Kubicki, Wowereit has become an icon of the gay rights movement
"One is allowed to be proud of himself"
Wowereit enjoys his esteem to the fullest. "One is allowed to be proud of himself," he once said. In September, he hopes to be elected mayor for a fourth time. If he manages to jump that hurdle, his next great test will come in June 2012, when Berlin's grand new airport is scheduled to open its runways. It's an investment in the booming metropolis that more people than just Wowereit hope will bring in greater returns.
The mayor describes the multi-billion-euro project in his own trademark blend of understatement and confidence. "We're not building a marble palace, but we're also not building a corrugated metal hut," he said of the airport. Rather, it's to be a sensible, functional airport that also shows off good architecture. Wowereit prophesied that the airport would become an international business card of sorts, like the central train station.
"Typical Berlin sass," grumble those who were always suspect of the capital city hype. For Klaus Wowereit, those kinds of people are the real grouches. Because naturally the residents of the city he governs are much friendlier than their reputation, he said in a survey by the magazine Geo Spezial: "We Berliners win people over with our charm and natural wit." Who would've thought?
