Die Linke Pull Further Ahead as CDU Stall
Six weeks out from Berlin's election, the CDU's new start isn't registering.
Wednesday, August 5, 2026
When Kai Wegner announced in July that he would not seek re-election as the CDU's lead candidate, the expectation was that the party might get a boost. It hasn't. According to a new Civey poll commissioned by Tagesspiegel, Die Linke have extended their lead to 21 percent - up two points since early July - while the CDU remains stuck at 19 percent, exactly where they were before Wegner fell on his sword.
Wegner's departure on July 10 came after fresh revelations about lies he had told regarding his whereabouts on January 3 - the day of the major power outage in southwest Berlin. The CDU has since installed a new lead candidate, but so far the change appears to have done little to shift voter sentiment.
The AfD sit third at 18 percent, up one point. The Greens are unchanged at 17 percent. The SPD continue to slide, dropping another point to just 12 percent — a remarkable collapse for a party that governed the city until 2023. The FDP and BSW are both at 3 percent, currently below the threshold needed to enter the Abgeordnetenhaus.
With all parties having ruled out a coalition with the AfD, and the CDU refusing to govern with Die Linke, the realistic options are narrow: either a left-wing coalition of Die Linke, Greens and SPD, or a CDU-led alliance with the Greens and SPD. The Greens and SPD are keeping their options open - SPD lead candidate Steffen Krach told Tagesspiegel on Tuesday that he would not rule out any coalition "at this point in time." The Greens' Werner Graf has similarly declined to close any doors.
Six weeks to go. Berlin votes on September 20.