Germany's post-communist Left Party is dreaming big
The socialist Left Party has seen its membership soar and is especially popular with young female voters. Could it soon come to power in the
The socialist Left Party has seen its membership soar and is especially popular with young female voters. Could it soon come to power in the city state of Berlin? "We are fighting in Berlin to turn the city red," read the main motion presented to the delegates at the Left Party's federal party convention. Red is the color of the Left Party, but also of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD). According to latest polls, a three-way coalition with the Greens could secure a majority in the September election for the city state's parliament. Berlin has been "red" in the past. From 2016 to 2023 it was governed by such a three-way coalition — under the leadership of successive SPD mayors. This time, the Left Party is dreaming of winning the election and taking over the mayoralty itself, with its candidate Elif Eralp. The 45-year-old has a remarkable background: Her parents were active in politics and trade unions in Turkey before fleeing to Germany in 1980 as asylum-seekers following a military coup, just weeks before Eralp's birth. Elif Eralp is the Left Party's top candidate for this year's Berlin state election on September 20 Image: Soeren Stache/dpa/picture alliance But winning the election won't be easy. Berlin's current governing Christian Democratic Union still leads the polls at 20%, but Elif Eralp is hoping to win not only in her party's traditionally left-wing base in neighborhoods like Neukölln or Friedrichshain, but also other parts of Berlin.
The party wants to replicate the "miracle of New York," where the socialist Democrat Zohran Mamdani the was elected mayor despite significant opposition. The Left Party's unique foreign policy stance The Left Party is the descendant of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), which ruled East Germanythe from 1949 to 1989 as a dictatorship, though it has long since established itself as a part of Germany's political landscape. The party is currently part of coalition governments in two of Germany's 16 states: The city-state of Bremen and northeastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In Thuringia, the party even led the government with its premier, Bodo Ramelow, until 2024. On the federal level, however, the Left Party has little chance of gaining power, partly because its foreign and security policy platform is deemed as too radical by many voters: The party is opposed to all arms exports and Germany's rearmament since the start of Russia's attack on Ukraine. "When we on the Left say we need a different Europe, we do not mean a military superpower or an EU army, but rather a force for peace that is capable of defense but does not export violence — neither in economic nor in military form," the party leadership wrote in its lead motion for the June convention in Potsdam. Why socialism is making a surprise comeback in Germany To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A focus on equality The Left Party accuses Chancellor Friedrich Merz's centrist government of allowing the military budget to balloon while simultaneously dismantling the welfare state.
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