During the Berlin election campaign, the Left Party has heavily criticized housing conglomerates such as Vonovia, threatening the company with nationalization. Following these sharp critiques, Vonovia has offered a meeting with Left Party chief Luigi Pantisano. This development was reported by the newspaper Spiegel, based on a letter from the company.
Vonovia leadership stated that anyone who claims credible insights into relief on the housing market must also acknowledge the responsibility of politicians, rather than unfairly targeting individual corporations as scapegoats. The company countered that the accusations leveled against them are blanket, extremely brief, and, in some cases, provably incorrect, adding that they wish to issue a clear and comprehensive response to these claims.
Pantisano accepted the offer. According to the report, a conversation between Pantisano and Luca Mucic, the chairman of the Vonovia board, is scheduled for October 13th, well over three weeks after the Berlin House of Representatives election on September 20th.
Pantisano told Spiegel that he expects to engage in a “direct confrontation with the heads of the rental mafia.” He suggested that the offer of dialogue would likely cause the firm concern that “its dirty tricks will be exposed.” The Left Party has committed to nationalizing residential corporations like Vonovia or Deutsche Wohnen should they secure a victory in the election.
