While the left elects their new party leaders at the weekend Katja Kipping sit back and relax. Your time in federal politics is a thing of the past; As Senator for Integration, Labor and Social Affairs, she now wants to concentrate on state politics and government: “I am a Senator in Berlin with heart and soul and with all my energy. And I always have the principle: Wherever I am, that’s where my workplace is, my battlefield, that’s where I go in,” she says in the new episode of the “Tagesspiegel Checkpoint” podcast “A round of Berlin”.
About her own time as chairwoman, Kipping says: “It wasn’t a bed of roses. We had tough conflicts and a lot of problems that made me think every morning anew about the smartest way to react to keep the party together and at the same time push modernization forward.” “Tough modernization” is useless if half of the party do not follow. And just keeping the party together without making any progress is not a way either. Nonetheless, she wants a clear demarcation from Putin fans: “I’ve always done everything to reduce the influence of people who talk like ‘Russia Today’. Unfortunately, not all chairmen were so determined about it.”
Also a topic in the podcast: the nine-euro ticket, compulsory service, sexism (“Especially at the beginning of the founding of the party, I observed that whenever there were critical situations, the men suddenly miraculously stood together”), the question of whether Katja Kipping has already thought about a change to the Greens and a lot of Berlin.
“Berlin is characterized by an incredibly lively civil society that immediately makes any problem public. It’s quite a challenge – but it’s also great because it never allows you to get lax,” says Kipping. And: “My concern is very clear that at some point there will be walls between different income groups and no more dialogue – which will become a real problem for democracy.” What she can (not) do about it: Now everywhere where there are podcasts.
You can listen to all Berlin rounds here:
Episode 1: A round of Berlin with Jens Bisky – Journalist and author of the bestseller “Berlin: Biography of a Great City”
Episode 2: A round of Berlin with Katleen Kirsch – Head counter woman in the Berlin cult pub “Zum Hecht”
Episode 3: A round of Berlin with Matthew Rohde – Frontman of the Berlin band “Von Wegen Lisbeth”
Episode 4: A round of Berlin with Mo Asumang – Author and documentary filmmaker
Episode 5: A round of Berlin with Gunther Krabbenhöft – Berlin’s oldest hipster
Episode 6: A round of Berlin with Deniz Yucel – Journalist and author
Episode 7: A round of Berlin with Joy Denalane – soul singer
Episode 8: A round of Berlin with Kevin Kuehnert – SPD politicians
Episode 9: A round of Berlin with Engelbert Lütke Daldrup – FBB airport boss
Episode 10: A round of Berlin with Ingo Bauer – lives on the street
Episode 11: A round of Berlin with Theresa Brueckner – Digital Pastor
Episode 12: A round of Berlin – From trying a positive review of the year
Episode 13: A round of Berlin with Idil Baydar – Cabaret artist
Episode 14: A round of Berlin with Melanie Baier – Intensive Care Nurse
Episode 15: A round of Berlin with Stefan Conen – Criminal Lawyer
Episode 16: A round of Berlin with Sophia Hoffman – Chef and activist
Episode 17: A round of Berlin with Megaloh – Rapper
Episode 18: A round of Berlin with Franziska Giffey – Top candidate of the Berlin SPD
Episode 19: A round of Berlin with Kai Wegner – Top candidate of the Berlin CDU
Episode 20: A round of Berlin with Bettina Jarash – Top candidate of the Berlin Greens
Episode 21: A round of Berlin with Sebastian Czaja – Top candidate of the Berlin FDP
Episode 22: A round of Berlin with Klaus Lederer – Top candidate of the Berlin left
Episode 23: A (history) tour of Berlin with Sven Heineman – SPD deputy in Berlin and author
Episode 24: A (cab) lap in Berlin Dirk Schieritz – Engine driver on the Berlin S-Bahn
Episode 25: A round of Berlin with Wolfgang Bahro – GZSZ veteran in his role as Jo Gerner
Episode 26: A round of Berlin with Anas Modamani – the man from the Merkel selfie
Episode 28: A round of Berlin with Felix Kroos – Ex-football player
Episode 29: A round of Berlin with Leonie Jenning and Martha Mechow – Theater directors at the Volksbühne
Episode 30: A round of Berlin with Danger Dan – Musician
Episode 31: A round of Berlin with Lorenz Maroldt – Editor-in-Chief of the Tagesspiegel
Episode 32: A round of Berlin with Andre Maeder – KaDeWe boss
Episode 33: A round of Berlin with Kurt Kromer – comedian
Episode 34: A round of Berlin with Oleksandra Bienert – Ukrainian activist
Episode 35: A round of Berlin with Tom Schilling – Actor
27 stations, 60 minutes, 1 guest: where better to talk and argue about Berlin, where to love Berlin more than on the Ringbahn – the Berlin microcosm on rails? Once a month, Ann-Kathrin Hipp from the “Tagesspiegel Checkpoint” takes on a topic, takes a Berliner with her and drives around the Ring
