Elif Eralp, a 45-year-old lawyer and the lead candidate for Germany's Left Party, "Die Linke," has become one of the main figures in the Berlin state election on Sunday, September 20. Polls show the Left Party's support at around 20 to 22 percent, and if victorious, Eralp could enter the race for the presidency of the state government and the mayoralty of Berlin.
Personal Background and Election Goals
Eralp grew up in an immigrant family. Her mother fled to Germany in 1980 following a military coup and political repression in Turkey, when Elif had not yet been born. She is now a mother of two, and if she reaches the mayoralty of Berlin, she will be the first woman with a migration background in this position.
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The Housing Crisis and the Demands of the Left Party
The main issue of the Left Party's campaign in Berlin is the housing crisis and rising rents. Eralp states that large housing companies are among the main factors driving up rental prices, and according to her estimates, rents have increased by about 70 percent in less than a decade. Housing is now among the top concerns for Berlin voters.
The Left Party demands the implementation of the results of the 2021 referendum on socializing large housing companies. In that referendum, over one million people, equivalent to 56.4 percent of voters, voted for the transfer of ownership of companies that own more than three thousand residential units in Berlin to the public sector; however, state governments led by the Social Democrats and then the Christian Democrats have not yet implemented the result.
Eralp has stated that implementing the plan to socialize large housing companies is a fundamental condition for any government coalition for the Left Party. If the poll results are confirmed, a coalition of the Left Party, Greens, and Social Democrats may be formed, but SPD leaders have so far opposed the nationalization of housing companies.
The Berlin elections are taking place amid the rise of the far-right party "Alternative for Germany" following a significant success in Saxony-Anhalt. However, polls show the AfD's share in Berlin at around 18 percent, while the Left Party is in close competition with the Christian Democrats for the top position.
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