First New York, now Berlin: Why the left turn for major metropolises?

Cover image: Die Linke (the Left) party top candidate Elif Eralp reacts as exit polls are announced after voting ended in the Berlin state election, in Berlin, Germany, September 20, 2026. © Axel Schmidt, Reuters

There's the inroads of the far right, but also the broader desire for change. Introducing Berlin's answer to Zohran Mamdani: Elif Eralp, who led the far-left Die Linke party's historic win in Sunday's municipal elections in Berlin. We ask if the 45-year-old daughter of Turkish political exiles can push through her promises of rent freezes and nationalisation of private real estate companies. Just like in New York last year, affordable housing was a hot-button issue. It didn't hurt that her party ran a social media-savvy campaign.

Contrast that with the German chancellor's Christian Democrats, who not only lost the capital but for the first time since World War II failed to win enough votes to sit in a regional parliament.