Kai Wegner is ridiculed for this sentence: “The administrative reform is a historic opportunity for Berlin.”

Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner has expressed optimism that the administrative reform is progressing as planned. "We're close to the goal," said the CDU politician in the main committee of the House of Representatives. The state parliament is expected to decide on the necessary legislative package before the summer recess. Until then, details will still be fine-tuned. But for Kai Wegner in particular, the altitude is already enormous; words apparently can't be high enough.

"It's important to me that we achieve an administrative reform that works well for Berlin," Wegner said in parliament on Wednesday. The central goal of the reform is "that we finally have clear responsibilities in this city." The proverbial bureaucratic ping-pong, the organized irresponsibility, should come to an end.

The end of the complicated division of responsibilities between the state and the districts is a valuable thing in itself, said Wegner. If there are any improvements to be made during the parliamentary deliberations, he would be very open to them, the Governing Mayor added.

These deliberations include, for example, a so-called conciliation board, which would be called upon in the event of conflicts between the state and the districts. So far, it has been controversial whether the conciliation board should have the final say, or whether the Senate can override this in individual cases.

Equally unclear, for example, is whether districts will continue to be able to take legal action against Senate decisions. Recently, the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district office announced a lawsuit against the Senate's plans to fence in Görlitzer Park for crime prevention and prevention purposes . The lawsuit was rejected by the Administrative Court.

Wegner once again used the meeting of the main committee to almost effusively praise the Greens and the Left Party, who are in opposition alongside the AfD in the Berlin parliament. A key points paper for such a reform was developed during the Red-Green-Red coalition. The current Senate embraced this, and the Greens and the Left Party joined in.

Berlin administrative reform: Wegner's pact with the Greens and the Left

They signaled their support for a proposed amendment to the state constitution. Because of the two-thirds majority required for this, the conservative-red Senate needs support from the opposition.

This is proof "that democrats, if they want to, can achieve good results," Wegner said. And: "This is an exemplary project that sends a strong signal in a time of loss of trust in institutions and politics." He did not mention the incompatibility resolution of his CDU with the Left Party, which has been under discussion in recent days following the election of Chancellor Friedrich Merz .

According to Wegner, the administrative reform is "a historic opportunity" for Berlin. He said it's about an administrative reform that should last for generations. "Few believed that something like this would be implemented after 20 years of debate."

Those are big words – and they weren't equally well-received by all committee members. AfD representative Rolf Wiedenhaupt, in particular, was prickly. "You don't have to explain to anyone in the city that the city isn't functioning, the administration isn't functioning," he said. Reform is long overdue. And the former CDU member had some extra sarcasm for Wegner. Whether the reform efforts are "historic," as Wegner had said, "I'll leave that open," said Wiedenhaupt. But that was Wegner's "special way of expressing himself: always going a bit too far."

Berlin administrative reform: “Where do I get my housing benefit?”

Daniela Ortmann, chairwoman of the main staff council of the public service in Berlin, illustrated how far the road to a goal can be. She gave the politicians an insight into life and work in the Berlin administration. There, "the idea that we are all part of a public service in this city is not prevalent," she said. Instead, there is often mistrust and a mentality of demarcation between departments and levels. This is especially true of the relationship between "those at the top" in the Senate administration and "those at the bottom" in the districts, said the former tax official at the Wilmersdorf tax office. This must end urgently. For Ortmann, it is therefore clear: the draft laws are just the starting signal, and implementation in daily work is only just beginning.

Either way, for the people of Berlin, the internal state of the administration will be of secondary importance at best. Torsten Schneider of the SPD reminded them of this. For citizens, other, concrete issues are more important, said the budget politician. His example: "Where do I get my housing benefit?" The questions of who is responsible for a fence around Görlitzer Park and whether and how a conciliation board between the state and district levels will work come much later.