Hubig on Dobrindt's anti-expropriation law: “Still many question marks”

German Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig of the Social Democrats has voiced reservations about Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt's planned investment protection law. There are “still many question marks,” she told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, adding that the debate was not over and that she took the constitutional and political concerns seriously. Hubig is not opposing the law, however, saying that once the coalition committee has decided something, everyone should contribute constructively.

Dobrindt, of the Bavarian CSU, wants the law to declare what he called an arbitrary left-wing socialisation fetish incompatible with the constitution. Taking over rental flats would only be allowed if “strictly necessary” and after all other means, such as investment and housing subsidies, had been exhausted. The bill responds to plans by the prospective Left-Green-SPD coalition in Berlin to socialise companies owning more than 10,000 flats in return for compensation estimated at 16 billion euros. Hubig also called those plans unsuitable, citing billions in compensation and years of legal uncertainty, and said the money would be better invested in building affordable housing.