„Berlin should occupy the Russian House and turn it into a House of Democracy“.
Werner Graf
Spitzenkandidat (Grüne)
Photo: @aanufriev
Dima Vachedin speaks with Werner Graf (Grüne), a candidate for Mayor of Berlin.
GENAU and WIR.DE are presenting an interview series with leading candidates from parties contesting the Berlin election. We contacted all parties with a chance of entering the Berlin House of Representatives. GENAU editor-in-chief Dima Vachedin spoke with those who responded. This is the fifth interview in the series. The original interview was published in Russian; this is the translation.
More interviews can be found here.
Dima Vachedin:
What is it like to run for the office of Governing Mayor of Berlin when you weren't born in this city?
Werner Graf:
I think diversity and intermingling are simply part of Berlin. People have always come here. It started back with the Huguenots in the 16th and 17th centuries — they brought asparagus to Berlin, and now we're very proud of Beelitz asparagus. Or the Polish community, without which Berlin's industrialization is unthinkable. Polish workers dug the Teltow Canal and built the Reichstag. Berlin is full of diversity, wherever you look. So it's not really about where you come from, but above all about where you want to go. I feel Berlin, I love this city, and that's what matters most.
Dima Vachedin:
Was there a moment when you felt, hey, I'm a Berliner now?
Werner Graf:
I fell in love with this city pretty quickly and felt at home here too. For me it started when I went to Ostgut for the first time — the predecessor of Berghain.
Dima Vachedin:
Ah, really? Still in the nineties?
Werner Graf:
More like the 2000s. I experienced the last years of Ostgut before it was torn down. When I was there, I already realized: this is my thing. I'm home here.
Dima Vachedin:
And how do you find Berghain?
Werner Graf:
I liked Ostgut better. I thought it was a bit smaller, a bit more intimate.
Dima Vachedin:
Not as hip, probably?
Werner Graf:
Yes. Berghain is great, no question. I'm glad we have it, but it's a touch too big for me.
Dima Vachedin:
It was a very hot summer. What do you think about these heat periods?
Werner Graf:
Berlin is getting hotter and hotter every year, we see it in the data and we feel it too. This summer we also had a lot of heat deaths — significantly more than usual. It hits the weakest hardest — people with illnesses, older people. We need to think carefully about how we can adapt the city to such events. We won't be able to stop this climate catastrophe that's coming our way completely, but we can mitigate its consequences.
In practical terms, that means: we need trees and benches, drinking fountains and riverside promenades. We need to redesign housing so that it stays cool. What we must not do is pave over the last green spaces the city still has with concrete. We need a construction turnaround altogether. We need to build housing people can afford — social housing. And we need to use land that's already sealed, or use spaces that are already built up. In Berlin we have over two million square meters of vacant office space. We need to convert that into housing.
Dima Vachedin:
And what about air conditioning? As a Green, you're apparently not a big fan of it.
Werner Graf:
I understand everyone who's air-conditioning their space right now. You need to be able to sleep somehow at night, and in some apartments it gets over 30 degrees. But of course, as Greens we've chosen the path of climate neutrality and prefer other means — for example, cooling through green facades, green roofs, or planting trees on the street.
Dima Vachedin:
Does Berlin have a problem with garbage?
Werner Graf:
I was in Warsaw last weekend and saw how clean it is there. Here it's really quite dirty. When I was younger, in the 2000s, I thought there was something rough about it, something almost honest, but that's long gone. Now I think we need to make this city clean.
If I become Governing Mayor, I'll set up a steering committee “Clean City,” to which I'll invite everyone dealing with cleanliness in the city — from district offices to civic initiatives. And there we need to develop the steps that will help us tackle this task. It's clear we need to keep expanding street cleaning, we're pushing for free bulky-waste collection days, but we also need to strengthen people's sense of responsibility. People should think of their streets and squares as an extension of their own living room — a place where they also live, plant greenery, beautify, and like to spend time. That will also lead to a clean city.
Dima Vachedin:
You're proposing a packaging tax. What's that idea about?
Werner Graf:
We want to levy a tax on single-use packaging that people simply throw away, so that companies have a bigger incentive to switch to reusable systems. There are positive experiences from Tübingen, where such a tax was introduced and the amount of waste went down. In Berlin alone, 170 million disposable cups are used and thrown away every year. And if we could cut that back significantly with a packaging tax, if we had a system where you could just pick up your cup somewhere and return it at any other corner, and everyone took part, then that would stop.
I still remember very clearly how big the outcry was when the can deposit was introduced. Many people said the world was ending because it was so complicated. In fact, everyone has gotten used to it by now. And the many cans that used to be lying around on the streets — they're gone now.
Dima Vachedin:
In transport policy you're proposing a large-scale purchase of new subway cars. Why?
Werner Graf:
We're noticing that local transport is getting worse — in quality and especially in reliability. In the past we'd just walk to the subway or the bus without even checking the timetable, because you'd wait 3 to 10 minutes. Today you sometimes wait 20, 30 minutes — that's impossible, and we have to change it. The current Senate — CDU and SPD — is offering us a maglev train and ten new subway lines, meaning they're spending money on expensive planning and utopian concepts. When we were in government in Berlin, we ordered 1,500 subway cars, and the current government cut the order, saying half would be enough. As a result, because there aren't enough cars, trains run less often. And that's wrong. Let's first make the U-Bahn and S-Bahn reliable again, so they come every three to five minutes, so I can just walk out and know it's coming — anytime. And then talk about further steps, but first let's get that reliability back.
Dima Vachedin:
How do you want to solve the housing shortage?
Werner Graf:
First, we're using the over two million square meters of vacant office space — we're setting up a conversion agency that turns it into housing. Second, we want to build more social housing. Third, we want to legally require housing companies to rent out part of their stock at social conditions. Right now hardly any new social housing is coming onto the market — and it's in far too much demand. We need more social housing.
Dima Vachedin:
And what about the rental of furnished apartments? That's widespread in the Russian-speaking community, and tenants get seriously ripped off.
Werner Graf:
This model exploits a legal loophole to keep rents overpriced and strip tenants of all their rights. We've already built up a network of tenant advice services and want to offer them in different languages — in Polish, Russian, Ukrainian. People who are new to Berlin don't dare point out their rights to their landlord. The state Housing Office can help with that, forcing property owners to comply with the law.
The problem is that the legislation in this area is very complicated — I've been trying for years to work through it, and I haven't managed to; federal and state rules are tangled together there, nothing is clear. For people who have just arrived, it's even harder. That's why people rarely go to court. But we have to pursue violations, and if someone is caught repeatedly renting illegally, we have to revoke their permission to rent out their apartment and force them to sell their property. We want landlords and tenants to deal with each other on equal footing — this imbalance has to go.
Dima Vachedin:
What are you doing with Tempelhofer Feld?
Werner Graf:
Nothing, we're just leaving it open. For me, Tempelhofer Feld is close to my heart. When I go there, I think it's unique in the world. We opened up this huge area, and people from Berlin came and filled it with life. People go kitesurfing, jogging, chilling on the lawn. All of that grew from the ground up, with a circus, a bouncy castle, and small community gardens.
It's also one of the reasons tourists come to Berlin. And tourists are enormously important for the economy. Concerts are held there too — Die Toten Hosen and Die Ärzte have played there. Why don't we do that more often? The fact that Adele preferred to perform in Munich, and Taylor Swift in Gelsenkirchen, I find a shame. We need to make Berlin attractive again.
People say the field could be built on, but we have other areas to build on too — for example, on the site of Tegel Airport. Berlin can grow upward, we need high-rises. Enough with the endless castles in the air — we should just use what already exists. That would be simpler and cheaper.
Dima Vachedin:
A few more questions about a possible coalition — yesterday I talked to a friend of mine who said the best era in Berlin was the red-red-green coalition you were part of.
Werner Graf:
Yes, we think so too.
Dima Vachedin:
Is a repeat realistic? Mathematically it should work out.
Werner Graf:
I'd naturally love to become Governing Mayor of Berlin. I think it would suit Berlin well to have a Green mayor. But above all we want a government that moves forward. And we want to end this backward drift of the current Senate, which is tearing out bike lanes, talking about golden bridges instead of taking care of sports fields and playgrounds that people need. So yes, we think we have far more common ground with the SPD and Die Linke in a coalition.
Dima Vachedin:
And would you also go into government with the CDU?
Werner Graf:
If we lay all the programs side by side, we have far more in common with the SPD and Die Linke. But it's not primarily about color combinations — it's about how Berlin gets out of this backward drift. That's what drives us.
Dima Vachedin:
And what will the SPD do? Will they go with Die Linke or with the CDU?
Werner Graf:
You'd have to ask the Social Democrats themselves. But I was annoyed that last time they chose to go into coalition with the CDU and elect Kai Wegner as mayor. A Social Democratic mayor would have been the better option back then. Now we'd prefer a Green one.
Dima Vachedin:
Last question — about the Russian House.
Werner Graf:
It's finally being closed, and that's good news for Berlin. The federal government and the Senate let themselves be led around by the nose for long enough. As long as Russia occupies parts of Ukraine, Berlin should occupy the Russian House and turn it into a House of Democracy. Let democratic initiatives work there, let it be a place of freedom.
GENAU and WIR.DE are presenting an interview series with leading candidates from parties contesting the Berlin election. We contacted all parties with a chance of entering the Berlin House of Representatives. GENAU editor-in-chief Dima Vachedin spoke with those who responded. This is the fifth interview in the series. The original interview was published in Russian; this is the translation.
More interviews can be found here.
Dima Vachedin:
What is it like to run for the office of Governing Mayor of Berlin when you weren't born in this city?
Werner Graf:
I think diversity and intermingling are simply part of Berlin. People have always come here. It started back with the Huguenots in the 16th and 17th centuries — they brought asparagus to Berlin, and now we're very proud of Beelitz asparagus. Or the Polish community, without which Berlin's industrialization is unthinkable. Polish workers dug the Teltow Canal and built the Reichstag. Berlin is full of diversity, wherever you look. So it's not really about where you come from, but above all about where you want to go. I feel Berlin, I love this city, and that's what matters most.
Dima Vachedin:
Was there a moment when you felt, hey, I'm a Berliner now?
Werner Graf:
I fell in love with this city pretty quickly and felt at home here too. For me it started when I went to Ostgut for the first time — the predecessor of Berghain.
Dima Vachedin:
Ah, really? Still in the nineties?
Werner Graf:
More like the 2000s. I experienced the last years of Ostgut before it was torn down. When I was there, I already realized: this is my thing. I'm home here.
Dima Vachedin:
And how do you find Berghain?
Werner Graf:
I liked Ostgut better. I thought it was a bit smaller, a bit more intimate.
Dima Vachedin:
Not as hip, probably?
Werner Graf:
Yes. Berghain is great, no question. I'm glad we have it, but it's a touch too big for me.
Dima Vachedin:
It was a very hot summer. What do you think about these heat periods?
Werner Graf:
Berlin is getting hotter and hotter every year, we see it in the data and we feel it too. This summer we also had a lot of heat deaths — significantly more than usual. It hits the weakest hardest — people with illnesses, older people. We need to think carefully about how we can adapt the city to such events. We won't be able to stop this climate catastrophe that's coming our way completely, but we can mitigate its consequences.
In practical terms, that means: we need trees and benches, drinking fountains and riverside promenades. We need to redesign housing so that it stays cool. What we must not do is pave over the last green spaces the city still has with concrete. We need a construction turnaround altogether. We need to build housing people can afford — social housing. And we need to use land that's already sealed, or use spaces that are already built up. In Berlin we have over two million square meters of vacant office space. We need to convert that into housing.
Dima Vachedin:
And what about air conditioning? As a Green, you're apparently not a big fan of it.
Werner Graf:
I understand everyone who's air-conditioning their space right now. You need to be able to sleep somehow at night, and in some apartments it gets over 30 degrees. But of course, as Greens we've chosen the path of climate neutrality and prefer other means — for example, cooling through green facades, green roofs, or planting trees on the street.
Dima Vachedin:
Does Berlin have a problem with garbage?
Werner Graf:
I was in Warsaw last weekend and saw how clean it is there. Here it's really quite dirty. When I was younger, in the 2000s, I thought there was something rough about it, something almost honest, but that's long gone. Now I think we need to make this city clean.
If I become Governing Mayor, I'll set up a steering committee “Clean City,” to which I'll invite everyone dealing with cleanliness in the city — from district offices to civic initiatives. And there we need to develop the steps that will help us tackle this task. It's clear we need to keep expanding street cleaning, we're pushing for free bulky-waste collection days, but we also need to strengthen people's sense of responsibility. People should think of their streets and squares as an extension of their own living room — a place where they also live, plant greenery, beautify, and like to spend time. That will also lead to a clean city.
Dima Vachedin:
You're proposing a packaging tax. What's that idea about?
Werner Graf:
We want to levy a tax on single-use packaging that people simply throw away, so that companies have a bigger incentive to switch to reusable systems. There are positive experiences from Tübingen, where such a tax was introduced and the amount of waste went down. In Berlin alone, 170 million disposable cups are used and thrown away every year. And if we could cut that back significantly with a packaging tax, if we had a system where you could just pick up your cup somewhere and return it at any other corner, and everyone took part, then that would stop.
I still remember very clearly how big the outcry was when the can deposit was introduced. Many people said the world was ending because it was so complicated. In fact, everyone has gotten used to it by now. And the many cans that used to be lying around on the streets — they're gone now.
Dima Vachedin:
In transport policy you're proposing a large-scale purchase of new subway cars. Why?
Werner Graf:
We're noticing that local transport is getting worse — in quality and especially in reliability. In the past we'd just walk to the subway or the bus without even checking the timetable, because you'd wait 3 to 10 minutes. Today you sometimes wait 20, 30 minutes — that's impossible, and we have to change it. The current Senate — CDU and SPD — is offering us a maglev train and ten new subway lines, meaning they're spending money on expensive planning and utopian concepts. When we were in government in Berlin, we ordered 1,500 subway cars, and the current government cut the order, saying half would be enough. As a result, because there aren't enough cars, trains run less often. And that's wrong. Let's first make the U-Bahn and S-Bahn reliable again, so they come every three to five minutes, so I can just walk out and know it's coming — anytime. And then talk about further steps, but first let's get that reliability back.
Dima Vachedin:
How do you want to solve the housing shortage?
Werner Graf:
First, we're using the over two million square meters of vacant office space — we're setting up a conversion agency that turns it into housing. Second, we want to build more social housing. Third, we want to legally require housing companies to rent out part of their stock at social conditions. Right now hardly any new social housing is coming onto the market — and it's in far too much demand. We need more social housing.
Dima Vachedin:
And what about the rental of furnished apartments? That's widespread in the Russian-speaking community, and tenants get seriously ripped off.
Werner Graf:
This model exploits a legal loophole to keep rents overpriced and strip tenants of all their rights. We've already built up a network of tenant advice services and want to offer them in different languages — in Polish, Russian, Ukrainian. People who are new to Berlin don't dare point out their rights to their landlord. The state Housing Office can help with that, forcing property owners to comply with the law.
The problem is that the legislation in this area is very complicated — I've been trying for years to work through it, and I haven't managed to; federal and state rules are tangled together there, nothing is clear. For people who have just arrived, it's even harder. That's why people rarely go to court. But we have to pursue violations, and if someone is caught repeatedly renting illegally, we have to revoke their permission to rent out their apartment and force them to sell their property. We want landlords and tenants to deal with each other on equal footing — this imbalance has to go.
Dima Vachedin:
What are you doing with Tempelhofer Feld?
Werner Graf:
Nothing, we're just leaving it open. For me, Tempelhofer Feld is close to my heart. When I go there, I think it's unique in the world. We opened up this huge area, and people from Berlin came and filled it with life. People go kitesurfing, jogging, chilling on the lawn. All of that grew from the ground up, with a circus, a bouncy castle, and small community gardens.
It's also one of the reasons tourists come to Berlin. And tourists are enormously important for the economy. Concerts are held there too — Die Toten Hosen and Die Ärzte have played there. Why don't we do that more often? The fact that Adele preferred to perform in Munich, and Taylor Swift in Gelsenkirchen, I find a shame. We need to make Berlin attractive again.
People say the field could be built on, but we have other areas to build on too — for example, on the site of Tegel Airport. Berlin can grow upward, we need high-rises. Enough with the endless castles in the air — we should just use what already exists. That would be simpler and cheaper.
Dima Vachedin:
A few more questions about a possible coalition — yesterday I talked to a friend of mine who said the best era in Berlin was the red-red-green coalition you were part of.
Werner Graf:
Yes, we think so too.
Dima Vachedin:
Is a repeat realistic? Mathematically it should work out.
Werner Graf:
I'd naturally love to become Governing Mayor of Berlin. I think it would suit Berlin well to have a Green mayor. But above all we want a government that moves forward. And we want to end this backward drift of the current Senate, which is tearing out bike lanes, talking about golden bridges instead of taking care of sports fields and playgrounds that people need. So yes, we think we have far more common ground with the SPD and Die Linke in a coalition.
Dima Vachedin:
And would you also go into government with the CDU?
Werner Graf:
If we lay all the programs side by side, we have far more in common with the SPD and Die Linke. But it's not primarily about color combinations — it's about how Berlin gets out of this backward drift. That's what drives us.
Dima Vachedin:
And what will the SPD do? Will they go with Die Linke or with the CDU?
Werner Graf:
You'd have to ask the Social Democrats themselves. But I was annoyed that last time they chose to go into coalition with the CDU and elect Kai Wegner as mayor. A Social Democratic mayor would have been the better option back then. Now we'd prefer a Green one.
Dima Vachedin:
Last question — about the Russian House.
Werner Graf:
It's finally being closed, and that's good news for Berlin. The federal government and the Senate let themselves be led around by the nose for long enough. As long as Russia occupies parts of Ukraine, Berlin should occupy the Russian House and turn it into a House of Democracy. Let democratic initiatives work there, let it be a place of freedom.
Werner Graf (Grüne) | Photo: @aanufriev
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