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Ugly battles strain Berlin-Hamburg relations
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-12-11 10:49
STAY OUT, MERKEL
Hamburg Mayor Ole von Beust, who spent months secretly meeting Mehdorn and
offering the lure of the harbor sale, told Chancellor Merkel to stay out of the
row -- even though her government owns the railway operator.
"If she's smart, she'll stay out of it," said von Beust with surprising
bluntness given that the new chancellor is also the leader of his own
conservative party.
"This is not any sort of pseudo competition between the two cities, but
rather it's only about corporate interests," added von Beust, whose city of 1.7
million is 300 km (180 miles) northwest of Berlin.
Merkel, herself from East Germany, has remained silent in public, but Bild am
Sonntag newspaper said she was "extremely annoyed" by Hamburg's moves.
Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said the government opposes any move
because it would be a setback to the economically depressed east. Mehdorn,
however, was undeterred and said he would study the Hamburg move further.
The tit-for-tat fight for each other's corporate gems has marred relations
between the cities at a time when ties were growing closer thanks to a new
high-speed rail link that cut inter-city travel time to 90 minutes.
BAD BLOOD
The bad blood between the two cities has historical roots. Even before World
War Two, Hamburg resented Berlin's political power and greater size, while
Berlin envied Hamburg's affluence.
Hamburg, which flourished as West Germany's media and transport hub with its
lucrative port, now resents having to pay subsidies to poorer states such as
Berlin as they try to catch up economically after decades of isolation during
the Cold War.
A recent Bertelsmann Foundation study measuring the economic strength and
position of Germany's 16 states found Hamburg to be the "most successful" state
for a third consecutive year while Berlin slipped one notch to 15th.
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