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Berlin Left Taps Elif Eralp to Lead 2026 Race, Centering Campaign on Sweeping Housing Overhaul

The move positions the party to bid for a red–red–green government by prioritizing rent controls, expropriation, the housing referendum.

Overview

  • Delegates at the Berlin Linke congress in Lichtenberg formally nominated 44-year-old jurist Elif Eralp as Spitzenkandidatin for next September’s Abgeordnetenhaus election.
  • Her platform puts housing at the fore, pledging to implement the Mietenvolksentscheid, seek a rent cap for state-owned apartments, and pursue expropriation of large private landlords.
  • Internally, two motions to label Israel’s Gaza war a genocide were withdrawn in favor of a compromise text that acknowledged Israeli victims and Palestinian suffering while noting the ICJ has not issued a final decision.
  • Berlin’s CDU called on the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution to monitor Die Linke over alleged antisemitic and Israel-hostile positions.
  • A BILD columnist attacked Eralp’s agenda as populist and questioned the constitutionality of parts of it, highlighting immediate media pushback.