Berlin SPD launches campaign with rent cap and cleanliness slogans for September election
Lead candidate Steffen Krach presented the Berlin SPD's election campaign on 29 July, unveiling 70,000 posters with slogans targeting affordable housing, public cleanliness, and family support ahead of the 20 September state vote.
Campaign launch and slogans
Berlin's Social Democrats entered the hot phase of the state election campaign on 29 July. SPD lead candidate and state chairman Steffen Krach presented the party's central motifs at the Astra Kulturhaus in Berlin-Friedrichshain. Around 70,000 posters will soon be visible across the city, bearing slogans such as "Spielplatz ohne Spritze" (playground without syringes), "Grundschule ohne Handy" (primary school without mobiles), and "Baustellen sind zum Bauen da, nicht zum Stellen" (construction sites are for building, not parking vehicles). Krach assured the audience that not all posters feature his face, saying "Nicht alle von mir" (not all of me).
A central campaign promise is captured in the slogan "Mieten deckeln gegen Abzocke" (capping rents against rip-offs). The party is framing the election around liveable neighbourhoods, clean streets, and stronger support for families.
Rent cap push
Krach made clear that introducing a state-level rent cap requires a federal opening clause, the so-called Länderöffnungsklausel. He pledged to keep pressing Berlin's case in the Bundesrat.
Ich werde da nicht nachlassen.
He argued that high rents are not only a Berlin problem but also plague cities such as Cologne, Düsseldorf, and large Bavarian municipalities. Krach expressed strong confidence that the necessary legal change will come.
Ich bin mir ganz sicher, die Länderöffnungsklausel, die wird es in den nächsten Jahren geben.
He also noted the party would "weiter an der Länderöffnungsklausel arbeiten" (continue working on the opening clause).
Election mechanics
The election for the Berlin House of Representatives and the borough assemblies is set for 20 September. Under Berlin's street law, parties may begin hanging posters on lamp posts from Sunday, 2 August, exactly seven weeks before polling day. The campaign therefore enters its visible phase just as the summer holidays draw to a close.
- Krach presents campaign at Astra Kulturhaus, Berlin-Friedrichshain
- Posters allowed on lamp posts under Berlin street law
- Election day for the Berlin House of Representatives
Electoral context
In the last Abgeordnetenhaus election in 2023, the SPD secured 18.4 percent of the vote, finishing well behind the CDU and only narrowly ahead of the Greens. Despite a mathematically possible red-green-red majority, the Social Democrats opted for a coalition with the election winner, the CDU. Recent polls, however, place the SPD significantly below its 2023 result, adding urgency to the campaign push that Krach launched today.
