Story perspectives

Die Linke wins Berlin election as Eralp leads

By Drooid · Sep 22, 2026, 10:28 PM UTC · How we work

Left

First Immigrant Mayor

The Left (Die Linke) won the Berlin state election on Sunday, 20 September 2026.
Coverage stresses Die Linke’s housing-affordability platform and its pledge to champion immigrant and working-class residents.
Elif Eralp, a German-Turkish lawyer, would become Berlin’s first mayor of immigrant background.
The Left earned 25.7 % of votes, ahead of the CDU’s 18.8 % and AfD’s 16.3 %.
Eralp’s platform proposes citywide rent caps, expropriation of corporate landlords, and voting rights for non-citizens.

Right

CDU Disaster Claim

The Left Party won the Berlin state election on Sunday, 20 September 2026, with Elif Eralp as its mayoral candidate.
The result marked a historic defeat for the Christian Democratic Union and a surge for the Alternative for Germany.
Die Linke secured about 25.7% of the vote and earned 38 of Berlin’s 130 seats.
Christian Democratic Union leader Friedrich Merz called the outcome a disaster.

History

Historical Context

The first all-Berlin state election on 2 December 1990, held after reunification, saw the CDU win 40.4% and the former East German PDS capture 9.2% of the vote. In the 20 September 2026 election, The Left surged to become the largest party, ending the post-reunification pattern of CDU or SPD dominance. This shift revives the 1990 breakthrough and could drive citywide rent caps and broader progressive coalitions across Germany.

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First Immigrant Mayor

The Left (Die Linke) won the Berlin state election on Sunday, 20 September 2026.
Coverage stresses Die Linke’s housing-affordability platform and its pledge to champion immigrant and working-class residents.
Elif Eralp, a German-Turkish lawyer, would become Berlin’s first mayor of immigrant background.
The Left earned 25.7 % of votes, ahead of the CDU’s 18.8 % and AfD’s 16.3 %.
Eralp’s platform proposes citywide rent caps, expropriation of corporate landlords, and voting rights for non-citizens.

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