Noisy as SPD top candidate: Who will win the election in Steglitz-Zehlendorf?

Noisy as SPD top candidate: Who will win the election in Steglitz-Zehlendorf?

The SPD top candidate Steffen Krach will run for the 2026 House of Representatives election in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf 2 constituency. Krach, who is currently regional president in Hanover and was previously State Secretary for Science in Berlin from 2016 to 2021, was proposed by the previous constituency representative Matthias Kollatz and the chairman of the local SPD department, Rodrigo Bustos Barros. Krach is following in the footsteps of Kollatz, who will not run for a parliamentary mandate again until 2024 and is already 69 years old. [Tagesspiegel]

The Steglitz-Zehlendorf 2 constituency includes, among other things, the Südde district and has 30,751 citizens eligible to vote. In the repeat election in 2023, Matthias Kollatz received 24.1% of the first votes, which gave the SPD 21.7% of the second votes. In this constituency, Tom Cywinski of the CDU achieved the majority, namely 31.3% of the first votes and 30% of the second votes. [Wikipedia]

Elections in focus

The election has a checkered history. Kollatz won clearly in the regular election in 2021, but this election was declared invalid. Historically, the constituency saw a variety of changes until the merger of Steglitz and Zehlendorf, and since 1999 it has included seven constituencies. [Wikipedia]

Compared to the last federal election, which had a voter turnout of 84.7%, the results in the Berlin-Steglitz-Zehlendorf constituency were mixed. Tom Cywinski of the CDU won the direct mandate with 30.7%, while Ruppert Stüwe of the SPD was closely followed with 22.4% and Nina Stahr of the Greens with 22.1%, posing challenges for the SPD. [Time]

Looking into the future

The SPD base will decide on Krach's candidacy at the end of October, while the district association will determine the district list for the House of Representatives election in November, with Krach considered the likely top candidate. In the upcoming election on September 20, 2026, Krach will challenge the incumbent mayor Kai Wegner (CDU), who is supported by a black-red coalition. [Tagesspiegel]

For the other parties, Elif Eralp from the Left, Werner Graf from the Greens and Kristin Brinker from the AfD have already announced their candidacies, so the election campaign in Steglitz-Zehlendorf in 2026 promises exciting twists and turns. [Tagesspiegel]