Die Linke doubles vote share in Berlin state elections
- Germany’s socialist party Die Linke doubled its vote share to 25.7 percent in Berlin on September 20, defying a wider right-wing surge by the far-right Alternative für Deutschland...
- The party's success in Berlin state elections followed a broader turn to the left that began during the February 2025 federal election, when Die Linke enjoyed a comeback...
- Local Die Linke branches drove the electoral gains through coordinated campaigning, growing Berlin membership from 7,200 members in 2023 to over 19,000 this September.
Germany’s socialist party Die Linke doubled its vote share to 25.7 percent in Berlin on September 20, defying a wider right-wing surge by the far-right Alternative für Deutschland and expanding its working-class base in the capital. The victory followed a campaign centered on ending cuts, capping rents, and socializing housing companies, building on popular demands confirmed in a 2021 referendum.
The party’s success in Berlin state elections followed a broader turn to the left that began during the February 2025 federal election, when Die Linke enjoyed a comeback after years of stagnation, crisis, and splits. In that federal vote, the party won 20 percent support with gains in inner-city areas including Mitte, Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, and Neukölln, supported by young people, women, migrants, and the Muslim community.
Groundswell Campaigning and Local Grievances
Local Die Linke branches drove the electoral gains through coordinated campaigning, growing Berlin membership from 7,200 members in 2023 to over 19,000 this September. Activists engaged voters through stalls, rallies, street events, and door-to-door canvassing, targeting parts of the working class that had grown politically cynical after long voting for the Social Democrats (SPD) or Greens.
In the Rollbergviertel area of Neukölln, local candidate Philipp Dehne and volunteers organized rallies, documented dilapidation in apartment blocks managed by the public housing corporation Stadt und Land, and raised tenant demands with management. These efforts helped Die Linke achieve 25 to 30 percentage point gains in blocks like the Rollbergviertel, reaching vote shares of up to 55 percent.
Party History and Current Pressures
Die Linke was founded in 2007 through the merger of the eastern-centered Party of Democratic Socialism and the WASG, a left-wing split from the SPD. At that time, the Neukölln branch had roughly two hundred members operating in a former West Berlin district. Following the recent electoral breakthrough, attacks are now being concentrated on the Neukölln district due to the growing strength of the local party and its left wing.