Reaction to possible left-wing alliance: CSU fears “socialist suicide squad”

The CSU apparently seriously expects the Left Party to take over government in Berlin - and is pushing for a ban on expropriations. This is reported by the dpa news agency. The Bavarian sister party of the CDU is calling for the action agreed in the black-red coalition committee against the socialization of large private housing stocks to be quickly turned into a law.

“The Left’s expropriation plans are driving the housing market into ruin and are associated with horrendous costs,” newspapers from the Funke media group quoted CSU General Secretary Martin Huber as saying. “We must now implement the decision in the coalition committee to ban expropriation of real estate by federal law as quickly as possible.”

Huber described the Left Party's plans as a "socialist suicide mission" that would not allow a single new apartment to be built and would endanger necessary private investments. The CSU General Secretary referred to the protection of property in the Basic Law. “Property is protected by our Constitution and it will remain that way,” he said.

The expropriation of large housing stock was the central campaign promise of the Berlin Left Party. According to a successful referendum in 2021, she wants to take away all apartments from large property owners that exceed 3,000. She is particularly focusing on the real estate group Vonovia as the largest player, which owns 130,000 apartments in Berlin. He owns the company Deutsche Wohnen, after which the initiative behind the referendum named itself “Deutsche Wohnen & Co. expropriate”.

Left Party top candidate Elif Eralp, who is aiming for the office of governing mayor, reiterated on Monday that in a future state government “there must also be socialization”. Eralp would be the Left Party's first female head of government in Berlin. Nationwide, her party would be leading a state or senate chancellery for the second time after Thuringia - with Bodo Ramelow.

This would be possible with a left-wing alliance with the Greens and the SPD, which became the fourth and fifth strongest parties in the House of Representatives election. These two parties could also form a Kenya coalition - under the leadership of the CDU, which came in second place well behind the Left Party on Sunday.

After the coalition committee in July, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) announced a law that would prohibit the states from expropriating housing associations. At the beginning of July, the coalition committee decided to issue a corresponding order to the federal government. However, a draft law is not yet available.