...2) In Berlin, the CDU managed to squander the clear polling dominance it enjoyed throughout 2025 to finish in second place with just 18.8% of the vote – nearly seven points behind Die Linke. That is what a series of extremely stupid and unnecessary local scandals alongside association with the most unpopular Chancellor in the history of the Federal Republic can do to a party.
Zohran Mamdani’s advisers and campaign strategists assisted Die Linke in their left-populist Berlin campaign, which enjoyed particularly strong appeal among young voters.
Assuming some late-breaking turbulence caused by the corruption and indiscipline that are typical of Die Linke do not derail things, they will form a government with the Greens and the Social Democrats.
That highlighted line should tell you all you need to know about Die Linke's politics and policies, and sure enough. Check out who is on track to be the next mayor of Germany's capital city.
She seems nice.
...Her core promise is to transfer roughly 220,000 apartments owned by private landlords into public ownership and impose rent controls
She also plans to expand local voting rights for non-citizen residents
Her parents were left-wing activists from Turkey
She also plans to
- Force private landlords to offer up to 50% of newly rented units at “affordable” prices
- Talk of putting listing platforms into public hands
- Higher taxes on villas and luxury property
She wants to reshape the police
- Dissolve the state domestic intelligence service and replacing it with a “documentation office for human rights and democracy.”
- Cut police spending and focusing more on social policy than on enforcement.
I think we've heard all this before, no?
What we haven't heard before is the chancellor of Germany telling the 175-250,000 Jews who live in the country that he believes it is no longer safe for them.
ESPECIALLY in the capital of their own country.
