Alumni trip to Berlin: Exciting experiences in the Bundestag
Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner spoke, followed by a plenary debate in the Bundestag on the Ministry of Finance budget – a top-quality programme for the thirty alumni on this year's trip to Berlin on 8 September. The assessment of the participants at the end of a long day: strenuous, but successful, informative and entertaining. And finally, after a long Corona break, there was once again the time to exchange ideas and get to know other alumni. We were there at the invitation of our alumnus, the Bremen FDP Member of Parliament Dr. Volker Redder – an encounter that offered up lively discussions and deep insights into the everyday life of political Berlin.
The first stop in Berlin was the Bremen State Representation. After a welcome by Bremen's representative in Berlin, State Councillor Dr Olaf Joachim, Tanja Prinz (also an alumna) explained the work of the "Bremen Embassy" in Berlin, where she is responsible for coordinating Bundesrat (Federal Council) affairs. Her presentation also dealt with the question: Is it worth all the effort of having one's own state representation in the federal capital? The answer: an unequivocal YES. Most recently, Bremen scored with its Bundesrat initiative on an excess profits tax.
The visit was framed by a walk through the Tiergarten from the main railway station to the state representation and back to the Reichstag, accompanied by a first-rate downpour.
In the Bundestag, a well-organised programme awaits all visitors, which, due to the large number of groups and the high security requirements, follows a certain rhythm: wait, move forward, wait, move forward. In between, delicious food in the Paul-Löbe-Haus, the Bundestag canteen, an hour in the visitors' gallery in the plenary chamber, and shared wonder that only men speak on the subject of finance.
Then a one-hour meeting with Dr Volker Redder. For him, too, everything in Berlin was new, as he has only been a member of the Bundestag for just under a year. With our alumni group, he spoke candidly about his first weeks in parliament and about the influence a parliamentarian can have. Redder focuses on digitalisation policy in Germany and does not mince words. Real points of contention arose when the discussion turned to climate and transport policy. Although some disagreements were left unresolved, alumni shared the view afterwards that they had just met a very authentic and committed politician.
Finally, the Reichstag dome in the rain: imposing architecture that never fails to impress, new transparency in a historic place that also recalls the beginning of a not-so-long-gone criminal dictatorship.
