Elif Eralp's job is very tough!

Gürsel Köksal Cem Özdemir, Germany’s first state premier of Turkish origin, apparently does not know Elif Eralp, whom a large majority of voters in the capital, Berlin, have given the chance to go down in the country’s history as its second state premier of Turkish origin. Consequently, he is sparing Eralp from accusations of anti-Semitism levelled at her party, “Die Linke” (The Left). In his statements to the press regarding the Berlin elections, he says: “I do not know this lady.

Therefore, I do not wish to do her an injustice.” However, he is opposed to his own party, the Greens, forming a state government in Berlin dominated by ‘Die Linke’. Consequently, he also objects to Eralp becoming Berlin’s state premier – that is, the mayor governing Berlin. Why?

Özdemir claims that the ‘Left’, which won the election in Berlin by a large margin over the other parties, has benefited from ‘anti-Semitic’ statements made within its own ranks, and says: “In fact, I can say that these statements contributed to the election victory, at least in Neukölln and Kreuzberg.” Of course, it is not necessary for Özdemir to have personally met Elif Eralp, one of the Turkish-origin politicians actively involved in politics in Berlin, where he has served as a Member of the Bundestag, party leader and federal minister until May 2025. However, by refraining from congratulating a young politician—who is following the path he himself paved by being elected to the Bundestag years ago—on this major success, and indeed by failing to offer support in the face of unfounded accusations and smear campaigns, he did not surprise those who follow German politics, but he did, nonetheless, cause great disappointment amongst migrants in this country. A COALITION WITH THE GREENS AND THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATS For Elif Eralp, who won the election in Berlin, the most likely option to become state premier here is to form a coalition government with the Greens and the SPD, who emerged from the ballot as the fourth and fifth largest parties, having suffered significant losses in the vote.

A major campaign is underway to prevent Eralp and the Left Party – who won the election by placing concrete solutions to Berlin’s most pressing problem, the housing crisis and high rents, at the centre of their – from coming to power. At the heart of this campaign is the portrayal of certain politicians within the Left Party’s ranks—who have spoken out against the massacres in Gaza, criticised the policies of Israel’s fascist government, and called for solidarity with the Palestinian people at party meetings—as ‘anti-Semitic’. It is not just Özdemir; leading figures from all parties, ranging from the far right to the Greens, and the mainstream media are all vying to portray the Left Party as ‘a major threat to the right to life of Jews living in Berlin’.

Of course, there are also objections to the referendum on the nationalisation of housing monopolies, which was approved by nearly 60 per cent of Berlin’s population in a referendum five years ago. Those who argue that this will not solve the city’s housing problem but will, on the contrary, make it worse by hindering private investment in the housing sector; those who maintain that nationalisation will lead to legal disputes lasting for years and ultimately result in massive expenditure that the public purse cannot afford; and those who accuse the Left Party of fuelling social polarisation with ‘communist fantasies’... The smear campaign against the Left Party and Elif Eralp is very powerful.

They are trying to explain that criticising Israel’s policies and massacres is not the same as anti-Semitism, but their voices are muffled and go unheard. Their statements on nationalisation suggest that, should they enter coalition talks, they are prepared to make significant concessions on this issue. The campaign aims to persuade the public to opt for a CDU–Greens–SPD coalition – comprising parties that all suffered significant losses at the polls – rather than the Left Party–Greens–SPD coalition led by Eralp.

The ‘Left Party’, which officially defines itself as ‘democratic socialist’ but has so far operated as a second ‘social democratic’ party to the left of the SPD, had previously produced a minister-president in another German . Bodo Ramelow, the Left Party’s Minister-President of Thuringia, had handed over the government to a centre-right-dominated coalition after a 10-year , leaving behind a significant mess. The Left is now experiencing its weakest period ever in Thuringia.

For this reason, a group within the Left Party in Berlin is arguing that the party should steer clear of coalition efforts here. They argue that, were they to take the reins of government, they would lose their credibility by making concessions on many issues they advocate for – and on which they have the support of the electorate – particularly nationalisation... Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Elif Eralp'in işi çok zor!, published in BirGün newspaper on September 26, 2026.