Berlin Election Campaign: Linke Candidate Elif Eralp Faces Middle East Questions at Turkish-German Business Forum

At a Turkish-German Entrepreneurs Association (Türkisch-Deutsche Unternehmervereinigung) panel discussion with Berlin's leading candidates, approximately 200 attendees filled all seats during the final stretch of the election campaign. The event was intended to focus primarily on the capital's economic future, but CDU lead candidate Stefan Evers, currently finance senator in a coalition with the SPD, spoke extensively about law and order, a theme he also applied to the Middle East conflict. Evers accused Elif Eralp's party, Die Linke, of having an antisemitism problem. Eralp responded with a plea for a "Berlin for all," referencing Muslims, Christians, Jews and others. Die Linke's platform includes opening neighborhood canteens (Kiezkantinen) in Berlin and expropriating housing corporations. Despite these domestic policy proposals, Eralp is repeatedly confronted with a foreign policy topic on the campaign trail, as illustrated by the Turkish-German business podium event. The article suggests that a foreign policy issue could ultimately decide the Berlin election, at least according to guests of the Turkish-German Entrepreneurs Association. The discussion took place during the hot phase of the campaign, with the venue at full capacity.