Die Linke's victory in Berlin adds the German capital to the progressive map of major European cities, while Madrid and Lisbon remain governed by the right, a phenomenon that political scientists call the Iberian exception.
The victory of Die Linke in the municipal elections in Berlin has brought the German capital into the group of major European cities governed by the left. If their negotiations with social democrats and greens succeed, the Turkish-born lawyer Elif Eralp will be the new mayor of Berlin, according to radiomitre.cienradios.com. Analysts attribute the result to their proposal to socialise 200,000 homes through expropriation, an idea that residents already supported in a referendum in 2021.
The trend is repeated in other capitals. In Paris, socialist Emmanuel Grégoire won in March, extending 25 years of leftist governance. In London, Labour's Sadiq Khan has been in power since 2016, and in Rome, progressive Roberto Gualtieri took office in 2021. Vienna, Brussels, Warsaw, and Amsterdam complete the picture.
Political scientist Ruth Ferrero from the Complutense University of Madrid links this voting pattern to the concentration of young, more educated, and immigrant-origin populations. In her view, cities lean left when issues like unaffordable housing and gentrification turn into political conflicts.
In Lisbon, there has been recent alternation, but researcher Jorge Fernandes argues that the city, with half a million inhabitants, has changed its social fabric: the housing crisis has displaced middle-class sectors, and the new, wealthier residents tend to vote for the right.
Madrid is the most unique case: the Popular Party has won eight governments since 1991, with the sole interruption of Manuela Carmena between 2015 and 2019. Pedro Riera from Carlos III University explains that Madrileños identify more with the right than other Europeans, which he relates to territorial tensions and support for a centralist state.
Experts also point to the weight of an economic model associated with low taxes and projects like the Metro extension. Looking ahead to the elections in spring 2027, consulted political scientists do not foresee a shift: they anticipate rearrangements within the right, with few possibilities for the left.
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