柏林新闻 · 2026年10月19日
Greens and SPD Vote to Enter Formal Coalition Talks with Die Linke in Berlin
On October 19, the Berlin Greens convened a 49-delegate state committee and the SPD held a digital state-board session, with both parties expected to approve the 25-page exploratory paper for a Red-Green-Red coalition titled 'Mehr gemeinsam, mehr Berlin.'
Chancellor Merz Hosts Invest in Germany Summit in Berlin, Seals AI Partnership with Nvidia
Chancellor Friedrich Merz gathered around 200 international CEOs at the ESMT Berlin on October 19, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang as star guest and a three-digit million-euro federal AI partnership announced.
CDU Culture Minister Weimer: Berlin's Left Party 'Opens the Door to Antisemitism'
Federal Culture Minister Wolfram Weimer publicly warned on October 19 that a Berlin government including Die Linke would be unacceptable, citing antisemitism controversies and calling the party disqualifying in the city where the Holocaust was planned.
Twenty SPD Federal MPs Issue Statement Opposing Berlin Coalition Talks with Die Linke
A group of 20 SPD Bundestag members, led by security expert Sebastian Fiedler and including former Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, declared their 'compass of values is never negotiable' and called for halting coalition negotiations with the Berlin Left.
Tagesspiegel Checkpoint: Nationwide Backlash Against Berlin's Coalition Paper, Plus Fireworks and Cycle-Path Debates
Berlin's most-read morning newsletter on October 19 led with the nationwide political reaction to the Red-Green-Red sounding agreement, and also covered the renewed New Year's Eve fireworks debate and a reader-built bicycle-path quality score.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Makes Surprise Appearance at Berlin's Alexanderplatz to Launch AI Laptop Chip
Jensen Huang appeared unannounced at Saturn's Xperion gaming venue on Alexanderplatz on October 18 to present Nvidia's RTX Spark chip in Windows laptops starting at €2,899, giving five signed devices to fans and calling Germany Nvidia's largest European base.
British Columbia Permanently Stops Changing Its Clocks — While Germany and the EU Continue
A Berliner Zeitung feature published October 19 reported that the Canadian province of British Columbia fixed its clocks permanently on Pacific Time from March 2026, creating a one-hour winter gap with neighbouring Washington state and underlining the EU's stalled debate on abolishing the biannual switch.
Union Berlin Shows New Defensive Quality — First Back-to-Back Clean Sheets in 18 Months After Dortmund Draw
A Berliner Zeitung analysis published October 19 highlighted 1. FC Union Berlin's impressive 0-0 draw with Bundesliga vice-champions Borussia Dortmund as a defensive breakthrough not seen at the club in a year and a half.
Berlin Students Blockade Two Schools in Protest Against Education Cuts and Military Spending
Around 100–200 students barricaded the entrances to Andreas-Gymnasium in Friedrichshain and Leibniz-Gymnasium in Kreuzberg on October 16, drawing 130 police officers before the four-hour blockades were peacefully dissolved.
Around 300 Berlin Students Rally at French Gymnasium in Solidarity with French Youth Protests
On October 18, approximately 300 people gathered at the Französisches Gymnasium in Berlin-Schöneberg in solidarity with 800,000 French protesters demonstrating against school-hour overload, university admissions rules, and rising living costs.
Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg District Begins Converting Rigaer Straße into a Cycling-Priority Road
The district started phase one of the Rigaer Straße conversion on October 17, introducing one-way restrictions to reduce through-traffic and planning to reconfigure parking from diagonal to parallel, with paid parking of €3 per hour arriving from December.
Berlin Autumn School Holidays Begin: BER Expects 1.4 Million Passengers, A100 Britz Tunnel Closes Nightly
Berlin's two-week autumn school holidays started October 19, bringing BER Airport its busiest fortnight of the season and nighttime closures of the A100 Britz tunnel for maintenance between October 19 and 23.
Treptow-Köpenick Begins €5.3 Million Renovation of 15 Volkspark Wuhlheide Entrances
Construction work started on October 19 to upgrade all 15 entrance areas of the 317-hectare Volkspark Wuhlheide, funded with €5.3 million in federal and state GRW grants, with completion expected in spring 2028.
Berlin Dungeon and Bud Spencer Museum Both Announce Permanent Closure in the Same Week
Within a single week in mid-October 2026, both the Berlin Dungeon — closing November 7 after 13 years — and the Bud Spencer Museum on Unter den Linden announced they would shut permanently, prompting debate about Berlin's tourism health.
Berlin Senate Declares End of IT Emergency Six Weeks After Russian-Linked Rhysida Cyberattack
State Secretary Florian Hauer announced on October 15 that the acute IT emergency was over following the August 2026 breach by the Rhysida group, which stole 1.4 million files, demanded 30 bitcoin in ransom, and cost the Senate at least €4 million.