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Towards an end to the crisis ? Indecision continues in the Berlin metropolis after a decade of political rivalries Despite radical changes in the political scene, a form of urban government developed in Berlin during the 20th century, characterized by the predominance of the public sector with a consequent structural weakness in the private sector, centralized decision-making, and the central role of the political parties. Although this form of government — a legacy of the Cold War — continued throughout the period of reunification, the grave political and fiscal crisis of 2001 revealed its limitations by favoring the appearance in local politics of new public and private actors. What we see today suggests the emergence of a local form of urban governance, supported to a great extent by the private sector. It also shows a new mutation in a system based on the institutional and political heritage of the city, since the political parties still constitute a central element in in Berlin’s system of government.