The Left Party (Die Linke) won the most votes in the Berlin state elections on Sunday (20), for the first time in the history of the German capital. The result nearly doubled the party's previous vote, ousted the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from its leadership in the city, and represents another defeat for the governing coalition of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
According to a projection by the Infratest dimap institute, The Left achieved 25.7% of the votes, ahead of the CDU with 18.8%, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) with 16.3%, and The Greens with 14.3%. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) dropped to 12.1%. With the result, the CDU-SPD coalition, which governed Berlin, loses its majority.
The top candidate, Elif Eralp, 45, ran a campaign focused on the cost of housing, which she described as "the greatest social problem" of the capital. Daughter of left-wing militants who left Turkey after the 1980 coup, she was born in Munich and could become Berlin's first mayor with a migrant background.
Eralp promises to "expel speculation from Berlin" and push forward with the nationalization of large real estate associations, approximately 220,000 housing units, a measure approved in a 2021 referendum with 58% of the votes and never implemented. The SPD's Secretary-General, Tim Kluessendorf, states that the transfer would cost around 20 billion euros.
The SPD and Greens have signaled their willingness to form a government with The Left, but conditioned the alliance on addressing accusations of antisemitism directed at sections of the party in Berlin. The party rejects the accusation of systematic antisemitism and states that it opposes all forms of hostility against social groups, including racism and sexism. Eralp said she wants to protect Jewish, Palestinian, and Muslim communities.
Far-right wins in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
On the same Sunday,AfD came first in Mecklenburg-Western PomeraniaWith 38.2%, it is followed by the SPD with 35.5%. It is the second victory of the far-right in a German state in less than a month, after the43.8% obtained in Saxony-Anhalt on September 6th.
The CDU had 4.9%The worst performance in its historyIn state elections, and could remain without representation in the regional parliament for the first time. Merz described the result as a "disaster" and said his party was "crushed" in a contest reduced to a duel between SPD and AfD.
AfD co-chairwoman Alice Weidel stated that the party "has already replaced" CDU as the "people's party." The party's candidate for the state, Leif-Erik Holm, said on Monday (21) that "the chancellor's twilight has begun" and claimed the right to form the next regional government. Current state leader Manuela Schwesig, from the SPD, is expected to remain in office despite the AfD's lead.