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Left Party’s Elif Eralp leads Berlin election, projects 25.3%

By Drooid · Sep 20, 2026, 10:45 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Eralp Leads Berlin Left

Elif Eralp leads the Left Party in Berlin’s state election, giving her a mayoral chance.
ARD projects the Left Party at 25.3% and the CDU at 19.1%.
Eralp proposes a 1% rent cap for city landlords and 7,500 new municipal apartments annually.
Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds vote for the first time in Berlin’s state election.

Summary

Banks Warn Investment

The expropriation plan would seize 220,000 apartments, costing €7 billion to €36 billion.
Die Linke’s membership rose to 123,000 by end-2025, doubling its base.
Banks warned in June the plan could deter investment and halt new construction projects.
Political scientist Markus Kollberg said the party now mainly draws support from young city women.
The Left’s anti-Israel statements in Neukölln drew criticism from the Greens and SPD.

History

Historical Context

After German reunification on 3 October 1990 made Berlin a city-state with extensive public housing assets, the 2001 banking scandal forced austerity and spurred the 2020 Mietendeckel that froze rents for about 1.5 million units before the Constitutional Court struck it down. Today, The Left, led by Elif Eralp, proposes a 1 % cap, echoing that legacy while 20 % of Berliners remain at risk of poverty.

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Eralp Leads Berlin Left

Elif Eralp leads the Left Party in Berlin’s state election, giving her a mayoral chance.
ARD projects the Left Party at 25.3% and the CDU at 19.1%.
Eralp proposes a 1% rent cap for city landlords and 7,500 new municipal apartments annually.
Sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds vote for the first time in Berlin’s state election.

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