☀️ Guten Morgen, Berlin!
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Chance of Rain: 100%
Sunrise: 8:04 AM | Sunset: 3:52 PM
Here’s your quick update on what’s happening around the city on Monday, December 08 - from urgent alerts to stories in the subreddit. Today we went through 209 sources so you don't have to.
🫶 Witnessed an act of kindness lately? Berlin can be grey, but the people don’t have to be. Whether it was a stranger returning a lost wallet or a nice chat at the Späti, tell us about a small act of kindness you witnessed lately. Help us brighten the next newsletter by sharing it with the community. Tell us what you saw!
Got feedback? Write us at news@berlindaily.org. Let's dive in.
🇩🇪 New surveillance laws
Berlin’s state parliament has passed a major overhaul of the city’s police law, the Allgemeines Sicherheits- und Ordnungsgesetz. CDU, SPD, and AfD approved measures that expand police powers to monitor phones and laptops, secretly enter and search homes, conduct online searches of devices, use state spyware, activate bodycams in apartments, deploy drones, and run facial recognition. (Berliner Zeitung)
Germany’s highest court has recently tried to narrow these powers. In August 2025 it ruled that using source telecommunication surveillance to investigate crimes with maximum sentences of three years or less is disproportionate, striking those parts of the law. It also found the federal online search provision formally unconstitutional, but allowed it to remain in force until lawmakers rewrite it. (Recht und Politik)
The Berlin law illustrates how security policy is increasingly built on deep digital access to private life. Critics warn this risks normalizing near‑permanent tracking of movements and communications. Germany already logged more than 30,000 orders to obtain traffic data in 2022 alone, showing how quickly once‑exceptional tools become routine. (Bundesamt für Justiz)
🇩🇪 S15 begins service next spring
Berlin’s new S-Bahn line S15, also called the City S-Bahn, is set to begin service next spring after years of delay. The line will run every 10 minutes in shuttle service between Gesundbrunnen and Berlin Hauptbahnhof on a new 4 km section. It forms the first stage of the S21 north‑south project. (MOZ.de)
The S15 opens into a growing regional transit network that already moves huge numbers of people. In 2024, the Berlin S-Bahn carried about 456 million passengers, or roughly 1.4 million riders on an average workday, across 340 km of track. This makes it Germany’s busiest S-Bahn system. (S-Bahn Berlin)
The S21 project aims to relieve pressure on crowded north‑south routes such as the Friedrichstraße corridor by directly linking the northern and southern Ringbahn. Across the wider VBB network, annual ridership reached about 1.56 billion in 2024, or 4.28 million daily trips, underscoring demand for better rail capacity. (Verkehrsverbund Berlin-Brandenburg)
🇩🇪 Berlin’s Governance Crisis
Berlin is struggling under Mayor Kai Wegner’s unpopular CDU-SPD coalition. Amidst visible urban decay and administrative paralysis, critics accuse the Senate of prioritizing PR stunts like NFL games and Olympic bids over basic services. Budget cuts are hitting education and culture hard while internal infighting stalls key policies. With Wegner locked in a public feud with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the administration appears focused on political survival rather than fixing the city’s chaotic decline. (Berliner Zeitung)
Recent polling confirms this discontent. A Civey survey for the Tagesspiegel found 76 % of 1,500 Berliners dissatisfied with the CDU-SPD coalition, with just 19 % satisfied. Support for Wegner personally has fallen to about 16–20 %, down from 32 % after 100 days in office, making Berlin’s Senate one of Germany’s least popular state governments. (Tagesspiegel)
Financial pressures exacerbate the crisis. The Berlin Court of Auditors warns that the city’s spending path could push debt to roughly €84 B by 2029, more than double the 2001 level. Despite extra revenues, auditors project a structural annual deficit of about €2 B and have flagged a looming budget emergency. (t-online)
⚡ Quick Hits
🇩🇪 Derk Ehlert at the “Checkpoint Revue”: “Berlin is the capital of wild boars” | Wildlife expert Derk Ehlert explains in the satirical "Checkpoint Revue" why foxes, pigeons, and wild boars thrive in Berlin. He advocates for fewer New Year's Eve fireworks and against feeding wild animals.
🇩🇪 Shine of the future: Forbes celebrates young elite at the “30 Under 30” award in Berlin | Forbes showcased 90 young innovators from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland in Berlin. The event boosted Berlin’s startup image while sparking debate over youth-focused accolades and the value of late-blooming careers.
🇬🇧 Nationwide ban on fireworks, now? | Over 2.2 million people back the ban. Supporters cite attacks on emergency workers, animal distress and pollution. Interior ministers are weighing city-center restrictions but need federal explosives rules changed.
🇩🇪 Renovation backlog at Berlin universities | Berliner Hochschulen stehen vor einem großen Investitionsproblem. Die geschätzten 2,3 Milliarden Euro Sanierungskosten könnten Lehre, Forschung und neue Studienplätze auf Jahre ausbremsen.
🇩🇪 Extreme weather in Germany: Forecast announces temperature change – “it’s already extreme” | Meteorologists expect nationwide highs of 10 to 18 degrees Celsius for mid-December, far above normal. The unusual warmth could make this one of Germany’s warmest December months and bring mostly green Christmas landscapes.
📅 Events Today
🎟️ Doc.Berlin | December 08 - 11, 2026 | €4 | Filmmakers present thirty sharp documentaries. They challenge assumptions and spotlight overlooked social issues.
🎟️ Christmas Market at Charlottenburg Palace | November 24 to December 28, 2025 | Free | A historic palace glows with glittering lights. Wooden stalls sell crafts, roasted treats, and warming meals. Carousels and a small Ferris wheel delight kids.
🎟️ Winterquartier Berlin | November 29 to December 31, 2025 | On a donation basis | A Christmas market tempts with handmade gifts and roasted almonds. An ice rink and curling invite playful laps and friendly competition. A disco on ice livens evenings (plus kids' shows).
💬 What Berliners Are Talking About
🗣️ Can we normalize not tipping in a restaurant again? Happy to hear opposite views | Discussion about rejecting expected small tips amid rising American-style expectations and pushy cafe prompts.
🗣️ I want to start a support group for YouTube/social media addiction. Would others join? | Person proposing a peer-led, judgment-free support group for YouTube/social media addiction.
🗣️ Giving away my contract | Student seeking to transfer modern central 18 sqm room contract, registration possible.
🌍 Fun Fact: Berlin is one of Germany’s most multicultural cities – roughly 30% of Berliners have an immigrant background, with residents from over 190 countries calling the city home.
👋 That's a wrap! Thank you for reading.
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