Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera – Al Jazeera

Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera  Al Jazeera

Berlin, Germany – The morning after Berlin’s historic vote was chilly and overcast, but for Sumeja Skeva, an 18-year-old student in the bustling Neukolln district, the city’s prospects could not be brighter. On Sunday, Berliners delivered an unprecedented victory to The Left (Die Linke in German) party, a camp long seen as radical for its anti-capitalist and pro-migrant stance. Elif Eralp, the party’s Berlin leader, is of Turkish descent and is likely to become the city’s first mayor with an immigrant background. She would also be Berlin’s first mayor from the Left. The party’s win has brought relief to pro-migrant residents at a time when the far-right AfD party continues to gain support in eastern states, as well as to young people below 30, who, lured by the promise of affordability, represented the bulk of the Left’s voter base at the polls.

“It was my first time voting,” Skeva said. The neighbourhood, where the smell of sizzling kebabs wafts from stalls onto busy streets, is home to a large immigrant population. “I want them to tax the rich and to provide more opportunities for everyone,” she added. Eralp, who has been likened to New York mayor Zohran Mamdani, campaigned to end high rent prices and chronic housing shortages in the ever-expanding city. The Left party’s plans include issuing rent caps