After the German far right’s victory in regional elections earlier this month, the Sept. 20 vote in Berlin offered a startling rebuttal—but also a new set of political questions for Germany’s political system. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party scored a record high in the city, but the clear winner was the Left party and specifically Elif Eralp, its candidate for mayor. Having won an unprecedented 26 percent of votes, Eralp is now in position to lead coalition talks with Social Democrats and Greens to cobble together a left-of-center “red-red-green” government.

But the moment that Berlin’s election results lit up screens citywide, German media swooped down on Eralp, demanding to know whether the 45-year-old lawyer of Turkish descent would stick to her headline promise: socializing corporately owned apartment buildings.

After the German far right’s victory in regional elections earlier this month, the Sept. 20 vote in Berlin offered a startling rebuttal—but also a new set of political questions for Germany’s political system. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party scored a record high in the city, but the clear winner was the Left party and specifically Elif Eralp, its candidate for mayor. Having won an unprecedented 26 percent of votes, Eralp is now in position to lead coalition talks with Social Democrats and Greens to cobble together a left-of-center “red-red-green” government.

But the moment that Berlin’s election results lit up screens citywide, German media swooped down on Eralp, demanding to know whether the 45-year-old lawyer of Turkish descent would stick to her headline promise: socializing corporately owned apartment buildings.

“I’ve always said: If the Left enters government, socialization will happen too,” Eralp answered, turning serious for a moment amid her party’s jubilation. Expropriating corporate landlords, she continued, is “legally possible, financeable, and one of the best tools for keeping housing affordable.”

According to the Guardian, Eralp received campaign guidance in Berlin from one of Mamdani’s advisors; more broadly, the Left modeled their campaign after those of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. But the Left party’s populist promises to expropriate housing from private owners goes farther than any promises Mamdani made in New York.

The Left has made the policy a nonnegotiable condition for any coalition. But while expropriation may be the key to the Left’s electoral success, by signaling its discontent with the economic status quo, it’s not clear........

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