The federal chairwoman of the Left Party, Ines Schwerdtner, made it clear in the podcast of the magazine “Stern”: “With the Berlin Left Party in government, there will be socialization.” This makes the expropriation of large housing companies a condition for a possible coalition in Berlin. The expropriation is not to take place without compensation, as Schwerdtner emphasized: “We must remove part of the housing stock from market logic in order to really lower rents in the long term or at least keep them stable.”
The Left Party’s top candidate in Berlin, Elif Eralp, had already caused a stir during the election campaign with the announcement: “I will pull every damn lever to finally make Berlin affordable.” In the party’s election program, the tone is sharper: there, the corporations Vonovia, Deutsche Wohnen, and Heimstaden are described as a “rent mafia” that “earns millions” from rents. Together, the three companies own around 260,000 apartments in Berlin – out of a total of about 1.7 million apartments in the city.
The SPD’s top candidate, Steffen Krach, rejects expropriation as a coalition condition. “If that is the red line for the Left Party, then they have to see which coalition they want to implement it with – certainly not with the SPD,” he told “Stern.” He also expressed irritation about the federal chairwoman’s interference in state affairs. Berlin’s Greens support the referendum on expropriation and want to push it forward, but initially rely on concessions from the real estate corporations.
Source: www.faz.net
