Culture under threat in Berlin?

Berlin's new state government has abolished the post of Senator for Culture. From now on, Klaus Wowereit, the governing mayor of Berlin, will be directly responsible for cultural affairs. Heinrich Wefing expresses his concern about one of the few things Berlin has to offer: culture. "Culture has not just been beheaded in a symbolic sense. A head of government could hardly make it clearer that it has no administrative interest whatsoever in theatres, museums and libraries than by putting their administration in the hands of the Berlin Senate. This constellation will make impossible an independent cultural policy, which may at times be in conflict with the governing mayor's ideas. The fact that culture no longer has its own senator means the loss of all its weapons in political close combat: it has lost its independent budget, its place within the Berlin Senate and its political clout."

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