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![\"Eralp](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6a58c2885625e6181d3fd278.jpg\")
<\/p>\n BERLIN
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Elif Eralp<\/a>, a Left Party candidate of Turkish origin, has targeted Berlin\u2019s housing crisis, rising living costs and the Gaza<\/a> conflict ahead of the Sept. 20 state elections.<\/p>\n German media outlets frequently draw comparisons between the candidate and New York politician Zohran Mamdani due to her grassroots campaigning methods in the immigrant-heavy Kreuzberg district.<\/p>\n While recent polls place her party slightly ahead in a tight multi-party race, she rejected any early celebrations during an interview with daily H\u00fcrriyet.<\/p>\n \u201cPolls are not the election, so we will not get complacent, as we will continue to work for our people every day,\u201d Eralp said.<\/p>\n Her campaign heavily focuses on the city\u2019s housing shortage and soaring living costs, which she argued are pushing middle-class families and low-income residents out of the capital. She proposed the expropriation of approximately 220,000 corporate-owned apartments in exchange for fair compensation to curb real estate speculation. \u201cA house is a place where people live, not a tool for profit,\u201d Eralp said.<\/p>\n Concurrently, she criticized severe municipal shortcomings in public transport, city cleanliness and cultural funding, pointing out that poorer districts are neglected compared to wealthier commercial areas. \u201cOur streets must be clean, as children\u2019s parks should not have trash and needles used for drugs,\u201d Eralp said.<\/p>\n Shifting to international politics, Eralp accused the German government of hypocrisy regarding Palestinian rights and its unconditional support for Israel. \u201cGermany applies double standards, as it defends human rights concerning Russia but sends weapons to Israel\u2019s extreme right-wing government,\u201d Eralp said. She maintained that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must face international courts, demanding equal empathy for both communities residing in Berlin.<\/p>\n