Left plot for 2026: Conquering the Red City Hall in sight!

Left plot for 2026: Conquering the Red City Hall in sight!

On May 22, 2025, the Berlin left faces a decisive turning point. After the successful Bundestag election in 2025, the party is optimistic that it can conquer the Red Rathaus in 2026. Berlin's left-wing boss Maximilian Schirmer underlined the vision of a "red metropolis" until 2040, while the number of members of the state association grew by 50 percent, which is particularly due to the 8,000 new members who strengthen the party. These new members are to be actively integrated into party work and take part in local politics, which the party should enliven. Topics such as rents, climate and social justice come first on the agenda.

A central point of the current strategy of the left is the planned “Safe Wohnen law”, which obliges the landlord to rent apartments with low incomes. In addition, there are stricter rules against rental usury and more transparency through a home cadastre. A referendum to socialize housing companies is intended to support these efforts. In addition, the left also want to use empty shopping centers for social purposes. Despite these positive developments, the party is accompanied by internal differences and the shadow of the anti-Semitism debate.

Anti-Semitism debate is burdened by the party

The party congress is overshadowed by an intensive debate about anti -Semitism. This is particularly relevant, since an increase in anti -Semitic incidents in Berlin was documented by 50 percent in 2023, with a total of 1,270 incidents. In this context, the Documentation Center Rias recorded the highest number of anti -Semitic incidents within a calendar year, whereby the Hamas massacre is considered a turning point on October 7, 2023. 783 incidents were registered between this date and the end of the year, which corresponds to about 10 incidents per day.

elections on the horizon

With a vote share of almost 20 percent, the Berlin left could emerge as the strongest force from the upcoming elections. The move into the red town hall seems to be within reach. But the party also faces challenges. The loss of influential government representatives, including Klaus Lederer and Elke Breitenbach, has fueled the internal debate about whether the left should act as a government party or maintain its role as a protest party. Franziska Brychcy and Maximilian Schirmer came together at the new party leadership, with Brychcy promising new loans to finance the social promises.

While the Berlin SPD and Greens promise a coalition with the left, the party must make strategic decisions to maximize their success in the upcoming elections. Pascal Meiser is also active in municipal votes on rent policy and speaks of a referendum against the current rent policy of the traffic light coalition.