This is one of those odd stories that you have to piece together.
In the SE of Berlin, in the Neukolln neighborhood.....a bar-front that was empty and unrented.....was taken over.
In simple terms....some locals came in, opened up the bar, and started to sell beer/drinks.
The name for the pub? Syndikate. A play on words....so to speak.
Today (Friday), the cops are intending to move in and shut the operation down. Number required? Well....the city says 700 police are involved in the operation.
Why so many? There is a fair number of opposing individuals who basically intend to make this a difficult process for the police.
So what is going on? Behind all of this....going back for probably a decade....there's a speculation market going on with real estate and commercial properties. The little-guy operations are unable to compete, and end up being shut-down. Small little bar operations marginally exist across the city now.
No one can state the number but it's fair to say a significant number of people have come to be non-supportive of the government and the speculation business.
Capitalism out of control?
Back as the wall came down....real estate speculation took off in unified Berlin, and it hasn't slowed down since that point.
Two or three local guys with marginal ambitions....could run a small 25-chair bar and be happy with the marginal income. But once you enter the speculation business and set the rental price.....that bar location is going to be impossible because of the drink prices you set....to pay the local set price for rent.
Where this is going? Over the next decade, more and more 'fight-back' is going to occur, and the political folks are going to find no common ground to handle both the speculation crowd and the local neighborhoods.
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