The massive riots around a partially occupied residential building in Berlin-Friedrichshain seem like evidence for the protection of the constitution report that violent left-wing extremism is alive and well.
The house, called “Rigaer 94” in the autonomous Berlin scene, has been an “institution” of left-wing extremism since 1990 (!), As constitutional protection officials judge almost appreciatively.
The fight for the house is at the same time a symbol of the helpless and erratic handling of left-wing extremism in the capital by the Senate, first led by the CDU and since 2001 by the SPD. The political dilemma shows that the co-governing Left Party can or will contribute little or nothing to pacification. The annual riots on May 1st with a number of injuries, including many police officers, are part of the folklore of Berlin that has got used to it. At least 60 officers have now been injured while trying to check the fire protection in the barricaded house.
In Berlin, squatting, real estate speculation, housing shortages and high rents have always resulted in an explosive mix, especially before elections like now. Tens of thousands demonstrated peacefully there after Karlsruhe cashed the Berlin rent cap as unconstitutional. Left-wing extremists hope that their violence, glorified as “resistance”, will now be compatible with the emotionally charged topic. That mustn't happen.