The federal chairwoman of the German Left Party (Die Linke), Ines Schwerdtner, has made her party's expropriation plans a condition for participating in any government coalition in Berlin, Germany.
There will be socialization with the Berlin Left in government.
Schwerdtner said that is not a question for the party. She argued that part of the apartments must be withdrawn from market logic again and described the plan as an original social democratic project.
The election for the Berlin House of Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus) is scheduled to take place on September 20. Around five years ago, the initiative "Deutsche Wohnen & Co enteignen" won a referendum in Berlin for the socialization of large real estate corporations, but the demands were not implemented.
The Left leads according to a Civey poll for Tagesspiegel.
A poll cited by S2 gives the Left 21%, followed by the CDU at 18%, the Greens at 17%, and the SPD at 12%. According to a Civey poll for the Tagesspiegel, the CDU trails with 19%, the AfD follows with 18%, and the Greens with 17%. Different sources report different polling figures for the Berlin election.
Berlin SPD top candidate Steffen Krach made clear that the SPD would not support expropriations. He noted that the Left has co-governed in Berlin for 17 of the last 25 years and called the promises to fight rent usury and expropriate "clumsy populism".
Krach also claimed that Elif Eralp, the Left's top candidate in Berlin, stated on a podium that the city does not need new construction. Schwerdtner responded that if she were in the SPD's shoes, she would be "a tad more humble".
Schwerdtner also distanced herself from statements by her co-chairman Luigi Pantisano, who had equated the CDU with the AfD and fascists. She said that was a mistake and that he admitted it.
