SPD

"It is August 3, 2020, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof is still in bankruptcy, when the Berlin Senator for Economic Affairs Ramona Pop (Alliance 90/The Greens) announces in a statement that she has "achieved a good solution for Berlin". Together with the then Governing Mayor Michael Müller (SPD) and Cultural Senator Klaus Lederer (The Left), she signed a Letter of Intent with Signa, a declaration of intent. In order to keep four out of six department store branches threatened with closure for another three to five years, politicians in return are making extensive commitments for new construction projects by Signa at Berlin's Alexanderplatz and Hermannplatz, as well as Kurfürstendamm, where Signa will now be allowed to build high-rise buildings, which was previously prohibited. Longer-term guarantees for the buildings will then only be given in exchange for new building permits."

"A suitable financier must confirm this. Heike Sudmann describes it as a "desperate attempt" by the governing parties of the SPD and the Greens to "prepare an emergency exit in advance.""