Overview
- On Friday, August 7, Linkspartei federal chair Ines Schwerdtner publicly said the party will insist on expropriating large private housing companies as a precondition for joining a Berlin government.
- SPD lead candidate Steffen Krach immediately rejected the demand and said the SPD will not accept expropriations as the Linkspartei's red line for coalition talks, complicating possible alliances.
- Constitutional questions limit practical options because Article 15 of the Basic Law has never been used and Article 14 requires compensation when property is taken, leaving the legal route unclear.
- Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced in July a plan for federal legislation to bar corporate housing expropriations, and government officials say internal talks are ongoing about timing and scope.
- The move revives unresolved politics from a 2021 Berlin referendum that won 59.1 percent support for expropriations and the Linkspartei's early-2000s record selling about 60,000 public flats, both factors could shape voter reaction before the September 20 vote.