What happens if the FDP leaves the planned coalition and the "V-traffic light" does not materialize?
One variant is for the left to come into play as a new partner.
What this could mean for investors and companies, the party indicates in its local election program: Increase in trade tax by 90 points, increase the quota for subsidized housing construction to 68 percent, introduction of a rent cap and the expropriation of real estate groups are some of the goals.
As a small partner, it is unlikely that you will be able to fully implement your plans.
But such an alliance is likely to be more “left” than with the FDP.
Rainer Schulze
Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.
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Daniel Schleidt
Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.
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In the real estate industry, some builders are of the opinion that it almost doesn't matter who is involved in government. For them, since the building land decision, which was introduced under the old coalition, there is not much to be gained in Frankfurt. The project developer Iris Dilger, for example, who has already built numerous apartments, is no longer looking for land in Frankfurt. “I take a break from shopping and wait for the next election so that I can build more freely again.” Because of the quota system, she can hardly calculate the projects. "That is too high a risk."
Should the FDP again “lindern”, as it is called after party leader Christian Lindner, who declared the exploratory talks in the federal government to have failed in 2017?
Thomas Schröer thinks this is wrong.
The specialist lawyer for real estate law believes that the construction of apartments in particular will not be made easier by the coalition agreement.
But he thinks it would be good if the liberals in the city government “take part and help shape”.
"The FDP shouldn't be afraid of its own courage"
Experience teaches that coalition agreements are not implemented one-to-one. “It depends on the specific design. In other words, what can actually be achieved. ”Many interviewees in the real estate industry see a V-Ampel alliance as“ the lesser evil ”compared to participation by the left. Because the Left Party is demanding even higher quotas for social housing and makes no secret of its basic skepticism towards investors. Schröer therefore wants the Liberals to take responsibility for the good of the city: "The FDP should not be afraid of its own courage."
The architect Stefan Forster also considers an alliance with the participation of the FDP to be “the lesser evil”, because the party vouches for “some common sense”. For the construction industry, he still sees black, because the city is no longer a reliable partner in building. The project developer Heinz-Günter Lang would also prefer the FDP to participate. For him, however, the most important thing is how the Greens act. “We need reliable framework conditions,” he says. But the reliability of the party has suffered since the "fall into sin" with the abandonment of the Günthersburghöfe. Its developer Ralf Werner does not consider the further tightening of the building land resolution planned in the coalition agreement to be sensible. Apparently the people involved wanted only the public housing associations to be active in Frankfurt."If we want housing for everyone, then something has to change."
Trade tax leads to the departure of well-known companies
Since the beginning of the coalition negotiations, many traders in Frankfurt have been looking with excitement at what the new Roman alliance might look like and what weight will be attached to the interests of the economy.
After the coalition agreement was published, there were increasing voices of relief that the trade tax in Frankfurt should not be increased in the current situation, despite the city's financial situation.
Instead, a one-year reduction should be examined - although this should only be possible after the end of the pandemic.
The trade tax in Frankfurt has repeatedly led to the departure of well-known companies who, despite the numerous advantages of having a seat in a metropolis, preferred to move to the surrounding area. In 2010, Deutsche Börse decided to leave Frankfurt in the direction of Eschborn in order to save trade tax. The group generated net sales of 3.2 billion euros last year. The latest example is the decision of the vacation airline Condor in July 2020 to relocate from the Gateway Gardens district to Neu-Isenburg, because the trade tax rate is significantly lower there, as was reported.
Nevertheless, other location issues also play an important role for many companies. The recently announced move of the industrial company Samson to Offenbach has to do with suitable areas. The coalition agreement states that new industrial and commercial areas are to be developed. In the industry, however, there was already clearly perceptible disappointment that this claim was not supported by concrete projects.