Elif Eralp, the Green Left party’s top candidate for the Berlin House of Representatives election, has urged the Social Democratic Party (SPD) to seriously consider the will of the voters and implement the 2021 referendum outcome. Speaking to the TV channel “Welt” on Thursday, Eralp questioned how the SPD plans to take the democratic will of Berlin residents seriously, stating that politicians should not tell people they can vote if the results ultimately don’t matter. According to her, all Democrats are now obligated to respect the will of the city’s populace.
In the lead-up to the Berlin House of Representatives election, polls suggest that the Left party and the CDU are tied for the top position, or that the AfD is leading. These surveys point toward the necessity of a three-party coalition, involving five parties expected to gain representation in parliament.
However, certain moderate SPD members have cited the party’s handling of Islamism within its ranks and the demand for the socialization of large property corporations as potential reasons for excluding the Left party from a coalition. Meanwhile, SPD top candidate Steffen Krach has dismissed the Left’s plans for expropriation of housing as “plump populism” that would fail to create actual housing. It is worth recalling that in the 2021 referendum regarding the expropriation of “Deutsche Wohnen & Co.,” approximately 58 percent of Berliners voted in favor of socialising the housing stock of large private real estate companies owning more than 3,000 dwellings.
Eralp remained firm in her stance on the expropriation agenda. She stated that Berlin residents can barely afford life in the city, particularly due to excessively high rents. She argued that alongside the development of social housing, the “socialization of major real estate corporations is also essential for lowering rents,” viewing this as a clear responsibility of the next Senate.
Eralp clarified that while owners would be compensated, the payment would “not be at market value, because we clearly do not want to compensate for pure speculation.” She invited investors who genuinely want to contribute to creating more affordable housing but made it clear that Berlin will not accommodate investors whose primary goal is to speculate on housing and land.
