In the event of a coalition, the Left, the Greens and the SPD in Berlin want to socialize large private housing stocks and introduce a rent cap. This emerges from the joint exploratory paper that politicians from the parties presented after their preliminary discussions. “We will ensure law and order on the rental market,” announced Elif Eralp in a press statement at the Haus der Statistics in Berlin-Mitte on Saturday.
“This is a matter close to our hearts here and that is what we will do with rent control in Berlin,” the left-wing politician continued. In the future, a focus department in the public prosecutor's office should take up the cause of “the fight against rent usury”.
A socialization law should be submitted to the House of Representatives for adoption in mid-2028. Accordingly, private housing companies with more than 10,000 apartments in Berlin should be expropriated in this way in return for compensation. They would be allowed to keep a basic portfolio of 10,000 apartments - socialization would only take effect on the remaining apartments they own. “This means that Berlin will remove around 160,000 apartments from market logic in order to ensure affordable rents and also to put a stop to speculation here in Berlin.”
“A livable and affordable city not only means that we provide more affordable housing and lower rents, but also that we enable everyone in our city to participate more,” Eralp continued. This particularly includes mobility. "We want all people, whether in the city center or in the outskirts, whether in the west or the east of our city, to be able to get around our city easily using local public transport and to make it cheaper. That's why we want to reduce the costs of the social ticket again."
Eralp also criticized the “massive shift to the right”. Civil society, on the other hand, must be strengthened. “That’s why we are also presenting a democracy promotion law,” she said. “And from our point of view, culture is an important building block for the resilience of democracy.” In addition to a culture funding law, a possible coalition wants to bring back the free museum Sunday. “For more participation, also for a strong culture and a strong democracy.”
“It is crucial for social cohesion that we adopt an embracing policy and move away from polarization and divisions,” Eralp continued. She wants to build a bridge to the Jewish community. "We are making a joint promise to protect Jewish life. Anti-Semitism has risen sharply in our city and we will take action against it and we will also strengthen prevention," she emphasized.
“We will also take action against anti-Muslim racism, antigypsyism as well as racism against Palestinians and every form of racism, which has been increasing for years.” This also includes combating anti-queer hostility.
The Left, the Greens and the SPD reported on the status of their exploratory talks in Berlin on Saturday. All three parties had invited people to a joint press statement “at the end of the explorations” in the House of Statistics in Berlin-Mitte. Before coalition negotiations can start, party committees must give the green light. The Greens have called a small party conference this Monday. In the case of the SPD, the state executive board is likely to decide on the basis of the exploratory paper; a date was not initially given.
Due to the two-week autumn break in Berlin, the Left has only scheduled a party conference for October 31st, which will decide on the start of coalition negotiations. If all three parties agree, these could start at the beginning of November.
In the election on September 20th, the Left was the strongest force with 25.7 percent. They are followed by the CDU (18.8 percent), AfD (16.3 percent), the Greens (14.3 percent) and - with their historically worst result - the SPD (12.1 percent). The previously ruling CDU/SPD coalition has lost its majority.
