Where Elif Eralp won. The (unfeasible) proposals for a Berlin where everything is more expensive

"Hurrah for the Social Communist Party Die Linke and its Berlin leader Elif Eralp." "Are you mad? Have you forgotten about the GDR?" Berlin’s newspapers and letters to the editor are currently divided between those applauding the extraordinary success of the first woman of Turkish origin to have secured the position of metropolitan mayor, and those tearing their hair out over the arrival of the Cossacks – or are they the Sultan’s Janissaries? – who are watering their horses on the banks of Berlin’s canals. Like it or not, Eralp has won on a platform that is as clear as it is – according to many economists – unworkable: expropriating large property developers to guarantee a home for everyone at an affordable price. A proposal against which Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government is already taking action with a bill ‘to protect investors’.

But wasn’t Berlin one of the cheapest cities in Europe for property? For property as well as for food: Until a few years ago—it was the pandemic that spoiled this urban paradise—a döner kebab on the go cost no more than three euros (today it costs at least double that), while a sit-down lunch at a good-quality vegetarian restaurant cost just six euros without drinks (and for the record, in Berlin you have to order a beer or a tea, never just water). Take transport: a standard ticket on the BVG – Berlin’s metro, bus, tram and other transport operator – cost 2.90 euros in 2020, 3.50 euros in 2024 and now costs a round four euros: a 38 per cent increase. The energy crisis is well documented: even before the pandemic, Germany had the second-highest energy bills in Europe, which rose by 9.9 per cent between 2020 and 2026. Could that be why a scoop of ice cream has gone from one euro to over two? Berlin may not be as exorbitantly expensive as Munich, but the romantic days when it was ‘poor but sexy’ have faded away with the coronavirus. Of course, pensioners can still have breakfast at Thoben, 30 very basic branches serving cheap bread and coffee where electronic payments aren’t accepted and a cup of tea costs just one euro.

A couple of years ago, Lap (Life among people) – a trendy chain of affordable yet high-quality cafés (i.e. at just 2.50 euros, which is very cheap by Berlin standards) – caught on with the younger crowd. An unintended consequence: the experiment did not go down well with the radical left, who opposed the multinational approach of the Lap branches, accusing them of harming small, independent, fair-trade retailers with their five-euro cappuccinos. Hence, the Eralp revolution: in the face of constantly rising prices, a rent cap. Try explaining to Die Linke’s voters that house prices in Berlin are lower than in other major German cities: a recent ZDF report notes that in the capital, the ‘basic’ rent (excluding heating) costs on average 14.1 euros per square metre, compared with 16.6 in Frankfurt and 21 in Munich. Has Eralp pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes? No, because, as the report – which cites the Berlin-based economic institute DIW – goes on to state, “nowhere else in Germany have rents risen as much since 2010 as in the capital: from 6.15 euros per square metre to 14.09 euros in 2025”, a 120 per cent jump. This is the law of the market, as pointed out by DIW economist Konstantin Kholodilin: “Housing has become increasingly in demand and prices are higher because demand has risen significantly, but supply has not expanded accordingly.” This is down to the pull that the capital continues to exert over half of the former East Germany, Europe and the Middle East.

In short, the property market is the Achilles’ heel of a city where everything is more expensive – so much so that even nightclubs are struggling in Berlin today. Not because there is a lack of customers. On the contrary: a study published in July by the nightclub association, the ClubCommission, highlighted that demand is strong and the dance floors are always full. On the other hand, the clubs’ profitability has deteriorated significantly, with the proportion of those operating at a loss almost doubling from 21 per cent in 2019 to 39 per cent in 2025: after all, tickets cost almost twice as much and customers now drink less alcohol and dance for fewer hours. As for the wider economic impact, the report explains that staff costs – cited as a ‘significant burden’ by 64 per cent of respondents – and ‘the decline in customers’ purchasing power’ – cited by 60 per cent – are major factors, alongside rents and tenancy agreements (cited by 54 per cent). It remains to be seen whether, in addition to neighbourhood canteens, Frau Eralp is also considering price-capped nightclubs.