‘Hope’ rises in Berlin immigrant communities as Left wins amid AfD gains

The Left party, led by Turkish-origin Elif Eralp, won Berlin, offering a contrast to the far right's wins in Germany's east.

People walk in the Kurfuerstendamm in the evening in Berlin, Germany, on September 5, 2025 [Emmanuele Contini/NurPhoto via Getty Images]

Berlin, Germany – The morning after Berlin’s historic vote was chilly and overcast, but for Sumeja Skeva, an 18-year-old student in the bustling Neukolln district, the city’s prospects could not be brighter.

On Sunday, Berliners delivered an unprecedented victory to The Left (Die Linke in German) party, a camp long seen as radical for its anti-capitalist and pro-migrant stance. Elif Eralp, the party’s Berlin leader, is of Turkish descent and is likely to become the city’s first mayor with an immigrant background. She would also be Berlin’s first mayor from the Left.

list 1 of 4 The leftist leader with Turkish roots who could become Berlin’s next mayor

list 2 of 4 Germany receives first F-35 jet from US as NATO boosts military spending

list 3 of 4 The pro-Israel censors are starting to lose

list 4 of 4 Far left wins in Berlin vote, far right in Germany’s northeast

The party’s win has brought relief to pro-migrant residents at a time when the far-right AfD party continues to gain support in eastern states, as well as to young people below 30, who, lured by the promise of affordability, represented the bulk of the Left’s voter base at the polls.

“It was my first time voting,” Skeva said. The neighbourhood, where the smell of sizzling kebabs wafts from stalls onto busy streets, is home to a large immigrant population. “I want them to tax the rich and to provide more opportunities for everyone,” she added.

Eralp, who has been likened to New York mayor Zohran Mamdani, campaigned to end high rent prices and chronic housing shortages in the ever-expanding city. The Left party’s plans include issuing rent caps – a phrase Eralp wears on a gold necklace – and expropriating homes from big corporate landlords.

She has also promised to clean up dirty neighbourhoods, prioritise social spending on vulnerable groups such as the homeless, and fight for non-citizens’ rights to vote in local elections.

“I am going to be happy to see all the new changes they promised,” said security worker Michael Akan, 26, a Left voter from Wedding, a diverse working-class district. “High rent prices are a problem for me, and gas prices too.”

States cannot regulate gas or other commodity prices, but Akan, like many of the Left’s supporters, believes Eralp’s anti-poor policies will somehow cascade and ease their living situation. Her party won 25.7 percent of the state’s vote – the highest – and a poll by broadcaster ZDF showed Eralp’s own ratings at 36 percent, the highest among candidates for the mayor’s post.

Die Linke (the Left) party’s top candidate for Berlin, Elif Eralp (L), co-leader Ines Schwerdtner (C), and top candidate for Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Simone Oldenburg, walk to the German Federal Press Conference building (Bundespressekonferenz) to address members of the media after state elections, in Berlin, Germany, September 21, 2026 [Liesa Johannssen/Reuters]

Anti-immigrant far right strengthens support

Nearly half of Berlin’s 3.6 million residents have an immigration background, the largest group being from the Turkish community, which helped rebuild the then-West Germany after World War II. The city is also home to a sizable Arab community, including the largest Palestinian diaspora in Europe.

As leftists celebrated in Berlin, the far-right AfD party, which opposes migration, also cheered its strong gains in the election. The party clinched 16 percent of the vote in Berlin to come in third place. On the same day, it also won state elections in northeastern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state, making it the AfD’s second state election victory in two weeks.

Against that backdrop, there was “no question” about whom she would vote for, said Ana S. Pareja, who runs the Bartleby and Co bookstore, a cosy space on the edge of Neukolln. In her bookshop, surrounded by Spanish literature, Pareja organised voting workshops for eligible European nationals and, before the Sunday polls, encouraged those in her network to choose Eralp.

“We are going to have a woman who has an immigrant background and who is like us,” Pareja said.“We don’t know what will change immediately, but every proposal Elif Eralp has is important, from rent to rubbish to the untouchable subject,” she added, referring to solidarity with Palestine.

Indeed, showing support for Palestine is somewhat of a taboo because of Germany’s strict pro-Israel stance. Demonstrators have been cracked down on, and cultural centres shuttered. This year, Germany stripped three pro-Palestinian bookshops of a prestigious national award for “left-wing extremism”.

While Eralp has been criticised for failing to articulate a stronger stance against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, or for failing to propose clearer policies against anti-Semitism, the politician has reiterated that she stands in support of Palestinian, Jewish and other vulnerable communities. Her supporters hope that the state, at least, will halt the attacks on pro-Palestinian voices.

Despite Sunday’s victory, Eralp’s work is far from done. Her party does not have a parliamentary majority, so it will have to form a coalition with other like-minded groups. An alliance is likely with the former governing coalition of the Social Democrats (SPD) and the conservatives (CDU).

However, both parties have already baulked at Eralp’s policies, particularly the prospect of housing expropriation – meaning the Left has to convince them, or, as some of its supporters fear, make heavy compromises. Negotiations could take weeks, even months.

For now, though, some Berliners are simply revelling in the feeling of having fought back against the fears of a Germany-wide takeover by the far right.

“The first change is that this is symbolic,” Pareja, the bookstore owner, said. “That’s important for people to regain hope and trust that was lost.”

由土耳其裔的埃利夫·埃拉尔普领导的左翼党赢得了柏林的选举，这与极右翼在德国东部的胜利形成了鲜明对比。

2025年9月5日，傍晚时分，人们在德国柏林库尔弗斯滕达姆大街上散步。[Emmanuele Contini/NurPhoto via Getty Images]

德国柏林——柏林历史性投票后的第二天早晨天气寒冷阴沉，但对于居住在繁华的新克尔恩区的18岁学生苏梅娅·斯凯瓦来说，这座城市的前景再好不过了。

周日，柏林选民以史无前例的胜利支持了左翼党（德语：Die Linke）。该党长期以来因其反资本主义和支持移民的立场而被视为激进派。左翼党柏林区领导人埃利夫·埃拉尔普拥有土耳其血统，她很可能成为柏林历史上首位具有移民背景的市长，同时也将是柏林历史上首位来自左翼政党的市长。

列表 1/4：这位拥有土耳其血统的左翼领导人可能成为柏林下一任市长

列表 2/4：德国从美国接收首架 F-35 战机，北约增加军费开支

列表 3/4：亲以色列审查员开始失去优势

列表 4（共 4 条）：柏林选举中极左翼获胜，德国东北部选举中极右翼获胜

该党的胜利给支持移民的居民带来了慰藉，因为极右翼的德国选择党（AfD）在东部各州的支持率持续上升；同时，也让30岁以下的年轻人感到欣慰，他们被物价低廉的承诺所吸引，成为左翼选民的主要群体。

“这是我第一次投票，”斯凯瓦说道。她所在的社区，烤肉摊飘出的滋滋作响的烤肉香味弥漫在熙熙攘攘的街道上，这里居住着大量的移民。“我希望他们能向富人征税，并为所有人提供更多机会，”她补充道。

埃拉尔普被誉为“纽约的佐兰·马姆达尼”，他致力于解决这座不断扩张的城市中高昂的租金和长期存在的住房短缺问题。左翼党的计划包括设定租金上限——埃拉尔普甚至将这一理念刻在了一条金项链上——以及从大型企业房东手中收回房屋。

她还承诺清理脏乱的社区，优先考虑对无家可归者等弱势群体的社会支出，并争取非公民在地方选举中的投票权。

“我很期待看到他们承诺的所有新变化，”26岁的保安迈克尔·阿坎说道。他来自韦丁区，这是一个多元化的工薪阶层选区，也是一名左翼选民。“高昂的房租和油价对我来说都是个问题。”

各州无权监管天然气或其他商品价格，但阿坎和许多左翼支持者一样，相信埃拉尔普的扶贫政策最终会惠及穷人，改善他们的生活状况。她的政党赢得了该州25.7%的选票——最高——而德国电视二台（ZDF）的民调显示，埃拉尔普本人的支持率高达36%，在所有市长候选人中位列第一。

2026年9月21日，在德国柏林，左翼党（Die Linke）柏林首席候选人埃利夫·埃拉尔普（左）、联合主席伊内斯·施韦特纳（中）和梅克伦堡-前波美拉尼亚州首席候选人西蒙娜·奥尔登堡在州选举后前往德国联邦新闻发布会大楼（Bundespressekonferenz）向媒体发表讲话。[Liesa Johannssen/路透社]

反移民极右势力支持率上升

柏林360万居民中近一半有移民背景，其中最大的群体来自土耳其社群，他们曾帮助重建二战后的西德。柏林也是相当规模的阿拉伯社群的家园，其中包括欧洲最大的巴勒斯坦侨民社区。

在柏林左翼人士欢庆之际，反对移民的极右翼政党德国选择党（AfD）也对其在选举中取得的显著胜利表示庆祝。该党在柏林赢得了16%的选票，位列第三。同一天，该党还在东北部的梅克伦堡-前波莫瑞州赢得了州选举，这是德国选择党在两周内取得的第二次州选举胜利。

在这样的背景下，她投票给谁“毫无悬念”，安娜·S·帕雷哈说道。她在新克尔恩区边缘经营着一家名为“巴特尔比书店”（Bartleby and Co）的温馨书店。在她的书店里，周围环绕着西班牙文学作品，帕雷哈为符合资格的欧洲公民组织了投票研讨会，并在周日投票前鼓励她的人脉圈内人士投票给埃拉尔普。

“我们将迎来一位有移民背景、和我们一样的女性，”帕雷哈说。“我们不知道会立即发生什么改变，但埃利夫·埃拉尔普提出的每一项建议都很重要，从房租到垃圾处理，再到那些难以启齿的话题，”她补充道，指的是声援巴勒斯坦。

事实上，由于德国坚定的亲以色列立场，表达对巴勒斯坦的支持在某种程度上是一种禁忌。示威者遭到镇压，文化中心也被关闭。今年，德国以“左翼极端主义”为由，剥夺了三家亲巴勒斯坦书店享有盛誉的国家级奖项。

尽管埃拉尔普因未能就以色列对加沙的种族灭绝战争表明更强硬的立场，或未能提出更明确的反犹主义政策而受到批评，但这位政治家重申，她支持巴勒斯坦人、犹太人和其他弱势群体。她的支持者希望，至少以色列政府能够停止对亲巴勒斯坦人士的打压。

尽管周日取得了胜利，但埃拉尔普的工作远未结束。她的政党并未在议会中获得多数席位，因此必须与其他志同道合的政党组建联合政府。她很可能与前执政联盟——社会民主党（SPD）和保守党（CDU）结盟。

然而，双方都对埃拉尔普的政策有所抵触，尤其是住房征用的前景——这意味着左翼必须说服他们，否则，正如一些支持者所担心的那样，他们将不得不做出重大妥协。谈判可能需要数周甚至数月的时间。

不过，就目前而言，一些柏林人正沉浸在战胜极右势力在德国全国范围内掌权的恐惧的喜悦之中。

“首先，这具有象征意义，”书店老板帕雷哈说。“这对于人们重拾失去的希望和信任至关重要。”