News blog about the state elections: Berlin: Left, Greens and SPD are planning to socialize apartments

Private housing groups with large portfolios are said to be affected by socialization in Berlin. The parties agreed on this in the explorations.

In the event of a coalition, the Left, the Greens and the SPD in Berlin want to tackle the socialization of large private housing stocks. This emerges from the joint exploratory paper that politicians from the parties presented after their preliminary discussions.

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 stock of 10,000 apartments - socialization would only take effect on the remaining apartments they own. According to the plans, cooperatives and actors oriented towards the common good would be excluded from socialization. This should also apply to apartments that were built or are still being built after January 1, 2021. The three parties want to present a law on the complex in mid-2028.

The basis for the nationwide, unique project would be Article 15 of the Basic Law. It says: “Land, natural resources and means of production can be transferred into common property or into other forms of public economy for the purpose of socialization through a law that regulates the type and extent of compensation.”

The Green Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Cem Özdemir, has warned the Berlin regional association against a joint government with the Left Party. “Dear friends in Berlin: Don’t make yourself unhappy, keep your hands off it!” said Özdemir on Saturday at a state delegate conference of the Baden-Württemberg Greens in Offenburg.

Özdemir said in his speech that the left in Berlin was a special case. “She let the genie of anti-Semitism out of the bottle and now she can’t get rid of it.” Özdemir also criticized the Berlin CDU, saying it had achieved little during its time in government. He also warned against equating the Left and the AfD across the board. Anyone who does this “trivialises the dangers of right-wing radicalism.”

The three parties have invited people to a joint press statement “at the end of the explorations” at the Haus der Statistics in Berlin-Mitte at 5 p.m. Before coalition negotiations can start, party committees would have to 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. Because of the two-week fall break in Berlin, the Left has only scheduled a party conference for October 31st. If all three parties agree, coalition negotiations 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). A coalition of the Left, the Greens and the SPD would have 91 seats in the new Berlin House of Representatives, which would be 14 more than the absolute majority.

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the SPD, the Left and the Greens have drawn a positive interim conclusion after five days of coalition negotiations. Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) said it was agreed to save money for the state and reduce state staff, digitize them and at the same time invest in certain areas.

The leadership of the Berlin Left party is distancing itself from Neukölln MP Vanessa Emde. There is no common working basis, said Left Party leader Tobias Schulze. On Thursday evening, Emde expressly repeated controversial statements about Israel's right to exist in an Instagram video. “I stand by my statements and I don’t take back any of them,” she said.

The Left, the Greens and the SPD have agreed to include their joint declaration on action against anti-Semitism in the coalition agreement if a government is formed. This was announced by Left Party leader Elif Eralp. "We met today with the Greens and the SPD and had a good and open conversation. We came to an understanding and the misunderstandings between us have been cleared up," explained Eralp.