Throw enough mud, and see what sticks: Some thoughts on the unbearable narrowing of political choice in Germany - defterin.org (01/10/26)
Originally published on defterin.org on 01/10/26 Throw enough mud, and see what sticks Some thoughts on the unbearable narrowing of political choice in Germany. On the 20th of September, the Berlin Left Party decisively won the elections for the city-state’s parliament and received a clear mandate to form the city’s next government with its leading candidate, Elif Eralp, as the next governing mayor. The mandate is undeniable: the outgoing governing parties of Christian Democrats (CDU) and Social Democrats (SPD) suffered massive losses. CDU landed a distant second and SPD was electorally demolished. Even the opposition centre-left Greens saw their long-standing constituencies switching to the Left Party, either out of conviction or because they wanted to ensure that the next government will have a left-wing orientation. During the campaigning period, the Berlin Greens also made it very clear that their preference is a left-wing coalition. The numbers are clear: a coalition...