"It took a while for people to notice. After the brief euphoria of unification in 1990, the West’s subsidised industry and the East’s socialist enterprise collapsed alongside each other." (The Economist, 2011)
Berlin's "creative richness is inseparable from its economic poverty" (Berliner Zeitung, in The Economist, 2011). The city's unemployment rate remains higher than any other states at 13.3% - national average is 7% - although since 2004 the city has created jobs at a faster pace than the German average. Today in the polls, the incumbent Governing Mayor Klaus Wowereit who has been in office for ten years is expected to be re-elected for another 5 years term, although he could run as a candidate for the federal premier, as did the former West Berlin Mayor Willy Brandt did.
The Economist (2011) Berlin’s elections: The cost of cool. [Online] http://www.economist.com/node/21529075 [18/09/2011]
Kulish, Nicholas (2011) Berlin Hopes Growing Tech Community Will Lift City’s Economy. [Online] http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/17/world/europe/berlins-tech-scene-offers-hope-to-economy.html [18/09/2011]
