Elif Eralp is expected to lead Berlin after Die Linke (the Left Party) scored a historic win in the German capital’s state elections on Sunday.
The 45-year-old candidate celebrated the victory with a speech peppered with Turkish remarks, against a backdrop of people performing Turkish folk dances to songs by Turkish pop star Tarkan blaring from loudspeakers.
Eralp told supporters that they had made history together. “We are all part of this city, this country,” she told a mixed group that included citizens of migrant backgrounds like herself.
“From today, we’re changing Berlin together,” she told celebrating party members in Berlin.
Eralp, the daughter of a couple who left Türkiye after her father faced political pressure as a left-wing labor activist during the 1980 coup, grew up in Hamburg, where she studied law. She entered politics as a legal policy adviser for the Left Party in the Bundestag in 2010 and rose to become the party’s deputy chair in the Berlin state organization in 2025.
She campaigned on the soaring cost of housing in the German capital and immediately promised to follow through on a pledge to nationalize private housing associations that account for a large share of the city’s housing stock.
The result, which roughly doubled the party’s previous score, could see her become the first mayor of Berlin from the Left Party, which grew out of the former East German communist party following the country's reunification 36 years ago.
Her party is set to displace Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) from the mayor’s office.
The Left Party took 25.3%, ahead of the CDU at 19% and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) at 16%. It also far outstripped the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), who took 12.1%.
Sunday’s election in Berlin came on the same day the AfD followed up on its success in the Sept. 6 Saxony-Anhalt election by taking first place in an election in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It also recorded its best-ever result in Berlin.
But while the AfD has attracted most attention, the Left Party has also benefited from a general turn against the mainstream parties of the center-left and center-right.
Meanwhile, the head of Germany’s Central Council of Jews on Sunday voiced opposition to a Left Party-led government in Berlin and urged other parties not to enter coalition talks with the socialist election winner.
Josef Schuster said he was concerned about the Left Party’s solidarity with pro-Palestinian demonstrators protesting the Israeli government. He accused the party of making antisemitic statements, claims its officials have repeatedly and firmly denied.
“During the election campaign, the Left Party repeatedly crossed the line with antisemitic remarks,” Schuster claimed. Entering a Left Party-led coalition, he argued, would mean promoting the “ongoing normalization of hatred against Jews.”
Eralp voiced support during the campaign for Berlin’s Palestinian community and sharply condemned war crimes in Gaza by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. She pledged that a Left Party-led state government would end what she described as repressive police measures against peaceful pro-Palestinian protests in the capital.
In response to the accusations, Eralp said party leaders had distanced themselves from a handful of isolated incidents. She added that the Left Party opposes all forms of racism and noted that during her career she has been involved in projects combating antisemitism.
“It is absolutely clear that we stand for the protection of Jewish life,” she said in a recent televised debate with her rival. “Just as we stand for the protection of Muslim and Palestinian life.”
The Left Party rejects accusations of systematic antisemitism, saying it is against all forms of “group-focused hostility,” including antisemitism, racism and sexism.
Hülya Eralp shared the joy of other supporters of her daughter as the initial election results were announced. “I am proud of her. I didn’t expect her to garner so many votes,” she told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Sunday.
Eralp said she broke down in tears over her daughter’s electoral victory.
“I haven’t been able to sleep for days because of the anticipation and excitement. It is a very beautiful feeling,” she said.
She said her daughter’s success had historic significance for Berlin, noting, “Elif said it herself; she has made history. It is very important that she achieved such success as a politician of immigrant background in Berlin’s history. Such an achievement in the capital is truly a wonderful thing.”
She said she hoped her daughter Elif would become a great mayor in every respect.
Her mother underlined that her daughter’s interest in politics and human rights developed from an early age, adding that she and her husband fought against racism and supported immigrants since they arrived in Germany.
Eralp added that she had also worked for years at an immigrant organization, where she helped young people enter vocational training.
“I worked with employers on how multicultural and multilingual education and vocational training could be provided. Even after retiring, I continue to work as a volunteer,” Eralp said.
Eralp said Elif grew up in such an environment, noting that immigrants, workers and people fighting against racism were frequently present in their home.
“We never guided her. We never told her, ‘Go into politics’ or anything like that,” Eralp said, adding that her daughter had shown an interest in developments around her and in politics from childhood.
Hülya Eralp said it was no coincidence that her daughter became a lawyer, noting that Elif had been sensitive to issues of justice from a young age.
“She was a child who cared deeply about justice. Whenever she saw even the slightest injustice, she would intervene. Everyone would say, ‘You will definitely become a lawyer and defend human rights,’” Eralp said.
Eralp said her daughter worked in the field of human rights after completing her legal education, adding that Elif Eralp worked as a human rights lawyer in the German Bundestag for about 10 years.
She said her daughter later accepted an offer from the Left Party and was eventually nominated as its candidate for mayor of Berlin following her work within the party.
Eralp said her daughter thought for a long time about the offer to run for office.
“She thought about it a lot, asking herself, ‘Should I run or not?’ She asked all of us. We told her, ‘This is a historic event. You need to do it. This has now been written on your forehead; you have to do it.’ That’s how she accepted,” she said.
She also called on immigrants in Germany to stand up for their rights and fight against racism.
“My request to immigrants is: Please stand up for your rights. Never surrender,” Eralp said, stressing the importance of fighting racism in Germany.
