Far-Left Party Wins Berlin Election, Promising to Take Over Private Housing

A far-left political party called the Left Party won a major election in Berlin, Germany, on Sunday, September 20. The party's lead candidate, Elif Eralp, ran her campaign on one big issue: the rising cost of renting an apartment in the city. Her win was a clear defeat for Germany's national leader, Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose party had held power in Berlin before the vote.

Eralp, who is 45 years old, wants the government to take ownership of private housing companies in Berlin. This idea is called nationalization — it means instead of private businesses owning the apartments, the city government would own and control them. She says this would help stop landlords from charging too much rent and would make housing more affordable for regular people.

The Left Party won about 25% of the vote, which was roughly double what the party earned in the last election. Merz's conservative party, called the Christian Democrats (CDU), came in second with 19%. The far-right Alternative for Germany party, known as the AfD, came in third with 16%. A centre-left party called the Social Democrats (SPD) received 12%.

If Eralp becomes mayor of Berlin, she would be the first mayor from the Left Party. The Left Party has an interesting history — it grew out of the communist party that used to run East Germany, before East and West Germany reunited 36 years ago. Eralp herself is the daughter of Turkish parents who came to Germany after fleeing a military takeover in Turkey in 1980.

The idea of nationalizing housing is popular with some Berlin residents. In a 2021 vote, 58% of people in Berlin said they supported a plan to pass a law allowing this. However, a separate recent poll found that only 37% of people surveyed were in favor of the idea.

Nationalizing housing would cost a lot of money. The plan would transfer around 220,000 apartments to city ownership. The SPD's general secretary estimated the cost would be about 20 billion euros, which is an enormous sum, and whether the plan will ever actually happen is still unclear.

On the same day as the Berlin election, the far-right AfD party also did well in another German state called Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where it came in first place. The AfD has been growing in popularity across Germany, especially in eastern states. In Berlin, the AfD also recorded its best-ever result, even though it finished third overall.

Even with her win, Eralp faces big challenges ahead. To become mayor, she needs to form a coalition — a partnership with other parties — because no single party won enough votes to govern alone. The SPD and the Green Party have both said they might be willing to work with the Left Party.

However, the Greens' leader said the Left Party must first clearly address accusations of antisemitism — which means hatred or prejudice toward Jewish people — that have been directed at some members of the party in Berlin. The Left Party denies that it is antisemitic as a whole, saying it is against all forms of hatred toward any group. Talks about forming a coalition government are expected to continue in the days and weeks ahead.