Berlin cultural drama is coming to a head: Now the staff councils of the stages are taking action with a demonstration in front of the Volksbühne

When savings are necessary, and on an unprecedented scale, clear communication is the minimum prerequisite for avoiding a seemingly inevitable catastrophe. One figure came as a shock: the city's cultural budget was to shrink by 130 million euros in 2025.

Culture Senator Joe Chialo (CDU) has made himself scarce in a difficult hour and contemptuous of the institutions by advising the "soft-bedded" to "manage their own finances." Chialo initially waved through the coalition leadership's austerity measures; after protests, they were softened in backroom discussions, but not for everyone and from the reduced budget.

The arbitrarily selected figures are now reflected in the budget and are intended to be perpetuated as permanent cuts. Berlin's theaters can only continue to operate economically by using up their reserves and investment funds. Once those are exhausted, staff reductions will be necessary, and then closing theaters will be unavoidable. It's that dramatic, even if politicians claim otherwise.

Video | Former Senator for Culture Lederer in front of the Volksbühne

After trust between cultural policymakers and institutions was destroyed, governing minister Kai Wegner (CDU) intervened and initiated a cultural dialogue with the non-partisan State Secretary for Culture Sarah Wedl-Wilson. Chialo was sidelined, and the attempt to bring him to the federal level failed. After a brief moment of relief at the well-founded political interest that suddenly emerged in the complex and overwhelming financial problems, the conflict now threatens to escalate again.

The Laws of Tragedy

The operational restructuring of the state theaters, which politicians hoped would bring more flexibility and synergies, was discussed in the dialogue with management and artistic directors and exploded in the public eye as a privatization bombshell. The staff councils are now sounding the alarm. Thus, a naive but constructive idea is turning into an attack on the workforce due to poor or lacking communication. They are taking up the big sledgehammers and preparing for a labor dispute in which wage disputes are fraught with cultural doomsday scenarios.

On Tuesday afternoon, following an internal staff meeting at which Wedl-Wilson spoke, they demonstrated in front of the Volksbühne theater to defend their interests, linking them with messages for the preservation of culture, democracy, diversity, and civilization. The more the positions of the conflicting parties solidify, the less likely a compromise becomes. And the closer catastrophe draws. These are the laws of tragedy.