Kirschbaum backs Dobrindt's bid to curb Berlin housing expropriations

The American journalist argues investment protections could weaken the Left party, in a commentary also covering German taxes, Audi and US postal voting.

Channel: WELT Nachrichtensender · GermanyStory of October 28, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of WELT Nachrichtensender's most watched videos since yesterday, with 111,405 views.

WELT Nachrichtensender: The German news channel WELT, formerly N24, owned by the media group Axel Springer. 2.5M subscribers and 5.8B views.

MEINUNG: "War clever von Dobrindt" – Kirschbaum sieht Potenzial, die Linke in Berlin zu schwächen

Alexander Dobrindt's proposed investment protections could constrain Berlin's plans to bring large housing companies into public ownership and weaken the Left party politically, American journalist Erik Kirschbaum argues in a studio commentary.

Speaking on Germany's WELT Nachrichtensender, Kirschbaum welcomes the interior minister's intervention as a way to counter expropriation proposals supported by Berlin's Left. His assessment is political: he sees the initiative as both protection for investment and a potential obstacle to the party's agenda, rather than describing a measure already in force.

The proposal is also contested within Germany's governing coalition. In a subsequent report, the broadcaster describes reservations from Social Democratic Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig about restricting the transfer of large housing companies into public ownership.

Housing is the final policy topic in a wider edition of "Meine Welt – Meine Meinung," meaning "My world, my opinion." Kirschbaum begins by criticizing Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, a Social Democrat who also serves as vice chancellor. He questions Klingbeil's resistance to tax relief, including a reduction in electricity tax, while the government receives substantial tax revenues and discusses additional taxes.

He then defends Audi chief Gernot Döllner's brief appearance at a US investment announcement involving Donald Trump. Kirschbaum says he does not understand the intensity of the German criticism, treating the appearance as a business decision rather than grounds for a prolonged political controversy.

For the American election discussion, he brings a physical prop: his own postal ballot. He notes that Trump also votes by mail, then discusses postal voting and the Democrats' prospects in the approaching midterms. The segment offers commentary, not an election result or a detailed forecast.

The broadcast closes with a change in Kirschbaum's own schedule. The hosts announce that he is leaving the morning program for evening appearances and work as a US correspondent.

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The numbers

The commentary drew about 111,000 views since yesterday, placing it among Germany's most-watched new news videos.

subscribers

2,490,000

total views

5,798,733,372

the video

views

111,405

likes

765

days online

1

As of October 28, 2026 · Data source: Trari Social News, Trari Traffic Trends and Ranking Platform, Google YouTube

Subscriber, view, like and comment counts are YouTube's. Rates, usual days, rankings, comparisons and categories are Trari's own calculations.