The Compass Dispatch #8

Q4 is officially here, and between three elections, a week in Berlin and a lot of time spent trying to sell myself (not my strong suit), September felt like three months in one.

This issue leans more political than usual, but three state elections in one month will do that. I'll walk you through what happened and, more importantly, what it can actually change for anyone living in or moving to Germany.

In September, three states in the former East Germany elected their regional parliaments, and the results went in very different directions. 🗳️

The AfD, a far-right party, won 43.8% of the vote, more than double its 2021 result. The CDU, Chancellor Merz's conservative party, had been leading the state and fell to about 17%. The AfD holds 39 of 83 seats, short of the 42 needed for a majority. Its candidate still plans to run for minister-president in December. The five members of the BSW, a smaller populist party, have said they will abstain. If he gets through, it would be the first AfD-led state government in Germany.

The AfD came first here too with 38.2%, just ahead of the Social Democrats (SPD) at 35.5%. The CDU got 4.9%, below the 5% threshold, and is out of a state parliament for the first time in its history. The SPD, the Left and the Greens together have a majority, and all three have ruled out working with the AfD. The current government should stay in place.

Die Linke, the Left party, came first for the first time ever with 25.7%, which I am personally very pleased with 🥳 Behind it were the CDU (18.8%), the AfD (16.3%), the Greens (14.3%) and the SPD (12.1%, its worst result ever). For Die Linke, talks with the Greens and SPD are next.

If they succeed, Elif Eralp, the daughter of Turkish immigrants, would become Berlin's first woman mayor from an immigrant family. A good direction for the capital, if you ask me. While this is good news, we must note that the AfD almost doubled their score in the capital as well, which shows a further polarization of the electorate.

If you want to know more, follow me on YouTube, the next video coming out will be about this! 🎥

Last issue, I wrote that immigration in Germany is federal. While that is true, it's also only half the story, and after this month the other half matters too.

The rules themselves are set at the federal level: the requirements for a Blue Card, the thresholds for minimum income, which visas exist and what documents they require. No state government can rewrite them, whoever wins.

But someone has to apply the law, and that someone is local. The immigration offices themselves are often part of the visa processes (in the background with the consulate), and they also issue and renew permits. They are run by cities and districts, under the supervision of the state's interior ministry. The state decides how much staff and budget those offices get, what internal guidance they follow, and how they use the discretion many decisions leave them. It also decides whether to fund the counseling and integration services newcomers rely on, and how hard to push on deportations.

In practice, that's the difference between an appointment in three weeks or in nine months, and between a caseworker looking for a solution or for a missing document. Goodwill does a lot of the work in this system.

So what can you do?

Not much unfortunately, but be as prepared as you can. Keep copies of everything you submit 📂 and know that a negative decision can be challenged in court, where the same federal law applies everywhere. In Saxony-Anhalt, lawyers, rights organizations and the Left party have just published a free 250-page guide (in German) for exactly that, with contacts for support ⚖️ If you live there or employ people there, build extra time into every timeline.

The law didn't change this month. Who applies it might.

I spent about a week in Berlin in September and I felt invigorated 🐻 I have left Berlin almost 3 years ago and while I do not regret leaving, I sometimes wonder whether I should move back. Sometimes, you need to let something go to realize how much you loved it! The good thing is that I am free to do whatever I want. I have 18 months before I turn 40 so I decided I will use this time to decide on my next life move (there are a lot of things that keep me in Paris for now, the main one being the work in my apartment and overall finishing it before I can put it up for rent).

I got to meet with people in the relocation industry - which is indeed a perk I miss by being abroad - and to hang out with some friends (and celebrate a friend's 40th birthday!).

I am entering Q4 with some anxiety, I am not going to lie. I love being independent and being able to be more creative in what I do now, however it is scary to never know when money will come in. I am doing some sales work (and I am bad at it!) and connecting with a lot of people, but I am not great at selling myself. If anyone has any tips here or know of any business opportunity, I would be forever grateful.

Otherwise, I have also started watching Charmed again and this show rocks (it’s witches season baby! 🔮).

I have also succumbed to the A Court of Thorns and Roses madness and 2 books in, I’m not so sure I am hooked. Not sure whether I should keep reading. If you are farther along, let me know whether you think it’s worth it. I was kind of meehhh with book 2 but it does end on a great cliffhanger 📚

I am blocking a whole day today to do a “CEO Day” - I saw that on social media and thought it was a good idea. It’s going to be a lot of analyzing data and strategizing 📊 So if I only get back to you tomorrow, you’ll know why!

If you have any comments or questions, I’ll be happy to hear from you!

See you in the next one.

Charlotte

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