“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” These opening lines to the classic novel A Tale of Two Cities seemingly also reflects the tale of two German elections, one in Berlin and the other in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, held on Sept.20. However, it is the Berlin story, a veritable political paradigm shift, which is the more spectacular and stunning.
Voters in the capital city delivered capitalism a severe blow. The self-described party of democratic socialism, Die Linke (The Left), registered a historic electoral triumph with 25.6% of the popular vote, over 5% higher than polls had predicted.
While the other election held in Germany’s poorest province, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, witnessed another victory for the fascist Alternative for Germany (AfD), even there, democratic socialists came in third. (See previous People’s World coverage of the recent election in Saxony-Anhalt here.)
The battle lines are drawn, and there is now renewed hope that socialism will win the electoral war for political power in Germany. This is not just wishful thinking, but a prognosis based on concrete analysis of election results, party platforms, and skillful political campaigns.
Christian Democrats collapse
First, come the election results themselves. It is not only that the Left Party received more votes by far in Berlin, but also gained 25 seats in the state parliament while the traditional political powerhouses of the CDU (Christian Democratic Union) and SPD (Social Democrats of Germany) collectively lost 30 seats.
In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the outcome for the CDU was even grimmer. This ultra-conservative juggernaut, which produced three long-serving chancellors (Konrad Adenauer, Helmut Kohl, Angela Merkel) and dominated much of political life in first West Germany and later unified Germany, did not even reach the 5% threshold.
For the first time in its history, the CDU will not be represented in a German provincial government. That may just prove to be a game changer and harbinger of things to come. The old political order is dying in Germany. Little wonder then that the current embattled CDU chancellor, Friedrich Mertz, called the election results “a disaster.”
The Left: Party of the future?
Secondly, The Left is the party of the German youth. Once written off as a marginalized party supported mostly by retirees and those nostalgic for the security of life in the old East Germany, it came roaring back in this election with deep support from young voters.
This election was the first time 16- and 17-year-olds could vote, and 42% of voters aged 16-24 in Berlin threw their support behind The Left. At 48%, that progressive vote was even higher for those aged 25-34. By contrast, only 8% and 7% of these age groups, respectively, voted for the CDU. Similarly, the fascist AfD was only able to secure 12% and 9% of the vote from these two young age groups.
Thirdly, the political platform of The Left resonated with the masses. “Make Berlin Affordable” is the title of the party’s hefty document detailing its progressive stances on all critical issues facing residents. Foremost among them is the severe housing crisis caused by what the party appropriately calls the “Miet Mafia” (Rent Mafia): the giant real estate firms of Vonovia, Deutsche Wohnen & Co., Heimstaden, ImmoScout & Co., and RFR Holdings.
Vonovia owns over 531,000 apartments in Europe, mostly in Germany, with a market value of $91 billion; among its principal shareholders is BlackRock, the largest money management firm in the world. It significantly enhanced its portfolio by taking over Deutsche Wohnen & Co. in 2021.
Heimstaden Germany, run by a Swedish billionaire, owns over 14,000 rental units in Berlin. RFR Holdings, based in New York City, owns 93 properties, a few in Berlin, valued over $15 billion. ImmoScout & Co. owns and manages nearly 30,000 properties in Berlin. Many of these properties are luxury apartments which are empty.
The greedy speculation, illegal rent hikes, and profit maximization of these corporate conglomerates faced the wrath of voters and the demand of The Left for expropriation (vergesellschaftung) of at least 220,000 housing units as well as the adoption of a rent cap; the reversal of housing subsidy cuts; creation of a task force against rent speculation; passage of a secure housing law; and enactment of the housing referendum endorsed by 59% of voters in 2021.
Among the most effective political leaflets was a list of “Five reasons to vote for The Left on Sunday,” which laid out the party’s platform in an easy-to-remember list:
- Affordable Life: financial alleviation in all areas of life;
- Good Jobs: fair wages and good working conditions;
- Anti-fascism: struggle against the right, hate, and smear campaigns;
- Reduced Rents: through rent caps, rent protection, and expropriation of corporate housing;
- Social Infrastructure: funds for education, health care, culture as well as strong social structures and achievements. Affordable life comes only with the Left.
Fourthly, The Left engaged in effective grassroots organizing. For several years, thousands of Berliners confronted the housing crisis by launching numerous campaigns against the Rent Mafia. Members of the Left Party were among the most active participants in this grassroots extra-parliamentary urban political movement, which included the Alliance against Displacement and Rent Madness Berlin; Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen!; Alliance of the NO! VoNovia & Co.; and Tenants Union Initiative Berlin.
Socialists were also a prominent part of “Grandmothers Against the Right” (“Omas gegen Rechts”), which grew greatly in popularity in the closing days of the election campaign. Additionally, a small army of volunteers canvassed door-to-door in all Berlin districts, especially in the city center, where The Left replaced the Greens as the dominant party.
Fighting to keep the fascists out
Fifthly, the socialist Left, unlike the fascist AfD, offers solutions to social problems and will form governing bodies. No party has achieved a vote majority, necessitating the electoral winner to form a coalition with others.
The most likely outcome for Berlin will be a red-green-red coalition (Linke, Greens, SPD). But despite its apparent popularity with voters, no political party has agreed to be a coalition partner with the AfD, with one exception.
In last month’s election in Saxony-Anhalt, the BSW (Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht) narrowly crossed the 5% threshold. Its leader and founder, Sahra Wagenknecht, a renegade politician formerly aligned with the Left Party, has announced her party’s willingness to negotiate terms of a coalition with the AfD. Egoism and racism might just unite there to catapult the fascist AfD into a ruling provincial government.
Nevertheless, the AfD victories are hollow ones. Its current popularity rests on two wobbly legs: endemic racism and false class consciousness within broad sections of the German population.
Mass frustration—especially in the economically-neglected states that made up the former German Democratic Republic—has led to large-scale displaced aggression against migrants. Hence, the popularity of AfD “remigration” policy, which, if ever implemented, will shoot the German economy squarely in the foot and cause even more mass frustration.
Socialism, by contrast, offers viable solutions and a concrete way out of the current crisis. Over one-fourth of the voters in Berlin agree, and their truth is hopefully destined to spread throughout the land and overcome the lies of the fascists.
Lastly, the leader of The Left in Berlin, Elif Eralp, was head and shoulders above her competitors. The daughter of politically active Turkish parents, she received a law degree from the University of Hamburg in 2009 and has been the leader of the Left Party in Berlin’s House of Representatives since 2021. She resides in Kreuzberg, a district which cast 74% of its vote for her party.
A highly persuasive public speaker, she used her political office to repeatedly denounce racism and sexual violence, passionately defend striking workers, strongly advocate for radical education reform, demand implementation of a tax on surplus profiteering, introduce grassroots governance in Berlin, and unrelentingly call for an end to the housing crisis.
“In our city, love and justice have triumphed over hate,” Eralp proclaimed in her victory address following the announcement of election results, “and this message is being sent to the world.” Afterwards, her many supporters broke out in passionate chants of “international solidarity” and “Free Palestine.”
Shortly, she will be the governing mayor of the capital, the first ever with a migration background. Her office will be in Berlin’s city hall, a magnificent edifice designated the Red House because of its appearance. Soon, that designation will apply to its politics as well.
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