The Left will soon present a proposal to the Bundestag calling for Germany to introduce a Dönerpreisbremse, which would cap the cost of a sandwich at 4,90 euros and 2,90 euros for young people.

Die Linke to propose Dönerpreisbremse in Bundestag

Since the German inflation rate began ticking up in March 2022 and the government introduced several policies to curb skyrocketing prices - the gas price cap, 9-euro ticket and Deutschlandticket - there have been half-joking conversations about introducing a price cap on Germany’s favourite dish, the Döner.

The German Left Party (die Linke) are the latest to jump on the bandwagon, this time in earnest. The party is expected to present a proposal in the Bundestag which calls for a Dönerpreisbremse to be implemented, capping the cost of a sandwich at 4,90 euros and 2,90 for schoolchildren. In a proposal paper seen by news website Stern, the party also calls for households to be sent a weekly voucher for a Döner.

According to figures from delivery company Lieferando, which assessed the cost of a Döner in the 10 largest German cities, the average price of a sandwich lies at six euros in 2024. Introduced to Germany by Turkish “Gastarbeiter” in the 1970s, it is estimated that Germany eats 1,3 billion Döner annually - Berliners alone eat 400.000 each day - amounting to 7 billion euros in nationwide annual sales.

Speaking on the Bundestag floor earlier this year, Greens MP Hanna Steinmüller urged fellow politicians to take the Dönerpreisbremse idea more seriously. “For young people right now it is an issue as important as where they will move when they leave home. I know it’s not an everyday issue for many people here [...] but I think as voter representatives we are obliged to highlight these different perspectives”.

Serious money would be needed to implement the policy. According to die Linke's calculations, a state-subsidised Dönerpreisbremse would cost the German government 4 billion euros each year.

What do Berlin Dönerläden think of die Linke’s proposal?

Of course, the Dönerpreisbremse isn’t die Linke’s only suggestion as to how Germany should curb inflationary prices, the party has also called for a price cap on groceries, gas and rents. 

Berlin Döner shop manager Memet Kutoglo thinks this is where parties should focus their energy. “I would love to sell a Döner for 4,90 euros,” Kutoglo told IamExpat, “But if the rent is high, if the electricity is expensive or the goods that we are selling are expensive to buy [...] 4,90 euros is too little.” 

Kutglo has run Best of Grill near Berlin Ostkreuz since 2015 and when he started a Döner in the shop cost just 3,50 euros, now it costs 6 euros. He’s pleased that the area around Ostkreuz boasts the cheapest Döner in Berlin, compared to 8 euros in the western neighbourhood of Ku’damm or 7,50 in Wedding, but isn’t convinced a Dönerpreisbremse would do the trick. “If the authorities regulate that the prices come down, the rents come down, then we could go back to selling a Döner for 4,90 euros or even 4,50.”

Round the corner at Vöner, a vegan Döner shop, staff aren’t convinced by die Linke’s suggestion either, but for different reasons. If a Dönerpreisbremse were introduced, “taxes would once again be invested in a product which is already full of state-subsidised foods such as meat,” a spokesperson from Vöner told IamExpat. 

According to 2021 figures, the German government grants 13 billion euros in subsidies to prop up the animal agriculture industry each year. “Considering the alarming progression of climate change, there should instead be a break on kebab meat so the list of state investments in war, animal and human suffering does not grow,” Vöner said.

Thumb image credit: Sahara Frost / Shutterstock.com