No longer a majority for black-red in Berlin: Where is Kevin Kühnert?

In Berlin, the Left and AfD have won - the CDU and SPD no longer have a majority. How are the governing parties reacting? And which personnel are being considered?

Kevin Kühnert during his last speech in the Bundestag on February 11. dpa

The big results of the federal election from Berlin's perspective can be summed up quickly: The Left Party doubled its share and, with Neukölln, conquered a West Berlin district for the first time. The AfD also increased by 50 percent and won a direct mandate in Marzahn-Hellersdorf for the first time in Berlin . The Greens lost Kreuzberg. And the Berlin governing parties CDU and SPD performed significantly worse in the capital than at the federal level.

But what do the results mean for Berlin's state politics with a view to the parliamentary elections in September 2026? Will the black-red coalition last until then? And what does all this have to do with Kevin Kühnert?

After the election: Will the black-red coalition hold in Berlin?

With their Berlin result, the CDU and SPD would not have a majority next year. Since this was also the case in the European elections in June 2024, a clear trend can be seen.

The competition is already rejoicing. Kai Wegner will have a hard time with projects such as the further construction of the A100, the development of the Tempelhofer Feld or the cultural war instigated by the CDU in political education and against the funding landscape, according to an initial election analysis by the Green Party's state executive committee. And co-faction leader Werner Graf is also calling for anti-austerity demonstrations.

For the Left, co-party leader Maximilian Schirmer analyzes that the state is withdrawing from more and more areas in Berlin where it is urgently needed. There are hardly any social services left, hardly any meeting places or advice centers. This is also where his party will start in the 2026 election.

Berlin election results: Greens, Left and AfD sense a new dawn

AfD party and parliamentary group leader Kristin Brinker also sees "optimal conditions for the parliamentary elections. The people of Berlin will then have to judge the Wegner Senate's record. There can be no doubt that their vote will be similarly devastating for the incumbent government."

And how can and do the CDU and SPD want to resist the wave of change? First of all, each party has to act on its own. But it is also about how they can hold out together as a coalition until the election date in autumn next year.

The CDU is preparing for unrest in the SPD in view of the historically poor result. However, they say they do not see any fundamental change in the coalition partner or even an imminent break between the black and red coalition.

In his conversation with the Berliner Zeitung, parliamentary group leader Dirk Stettner also tried to calm the waters. The results showed above all "how highly volatile" the situation is in Berlin. In other words: nowhere do parties rise and fall as dramatically as in Berlin. Nevertheless, the successes of the Left Party and the AfD naturally deserve a "very precise analysis".

Berlin CDU does not fear that the SPD will leave the coalition

Nevertheless, Kai Wegner is "successfully leading a functioning government," said Stettner. However, the CDU must also ask itself what the voters "tangibly" felt about this.

And at least when it comes to the pressure of tens of thousands of immigrants every year and the mammoth task of accommodating them, Stettner gives a quiet all-clear: "The number of refugees is fortunately decreasing." In addition, Berlin has reserves and will expand them on the site of the former Tempelhof airport. In addition, says Stettner, he is "confident that the grand coalition at the federal level will severely limit any further influx of migrants."

Berlin CDU: The Senate’s successes must be “tangibly felt” by voters

And the SPD ? Party spokesman Jonas Gebauer speaks openly of a "catastrophic result". By this he means primarily the performance at the federal level, but the shifts in Berlin should also give the SPD something to think about.

There is one side aspect of the Left Party's victory that he finds "pleasing," says Gebauer, although he is more focused on Lichtenberg winner Ines Schwerdtner: "With the right mix of clear statements and good personnel, something can be achieved."

This insight coincides strikingly with that of Michael Müller. The former Governing Mayor, who was thwarted by his own party (“too old, too white, too right-wing”) and ultimately failed in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, asked in his first election analysis for good reason: “How loud should the wake-up call for the SPD be?” For Müller, one thing is clear: “We need people who represent the issues credibly.”

Among workers, the CDU and especially the AfD received significantly higher shares than the SPD. We must reach these people and win them back if the SPD is serious about being a people's party.

But what content could that be - and which people could represent it? Opinions differ among Berlin's Social Democrats on this. Many officials in particular support faction leader Raed Saleh in his fight for a variety of social benefits of all kinds, such as free school lunches for everyone. In contrast, the chairman duo Nicola Böcker-Giannini and Martin Hikel, elected by the party base, question the principle of the "free city Berlin".

Looking at the federal party, the new strong man, party and parliamentary group leader Lars Klingbeil, says that the impression has been created that the SPD is "too concerned with the citizens' income and too little with seeing hard-working people". Political corrections are needed, and these will now be made.

Franziska Giffey sounds similar. The economics senator writes on Instagram that it is not important whether the party is left or right. What is more important is that the workers are won back and that the party takes it seriously when it says it wants to be a people's party again.

This sounds completely different from what the Berlin Jusos concluded from the Berlin election result: "It is now clearer than ever that the SPD Berlin must strengthen its left-wing profile before the 2026 election and once again show solutions for this city."

Berlin election 2026: Will Senator Kiziltepe run for the SPD?

And which personnel could now run in the 2026 parliamentary elections? Until proven otherwise, Labor and Social Affairs Senator Cansel Kiziltepe is considered the officials' favorite. But would she have a chance?

If you follow Michael Müller, then probably not: "The personnel selection in Berlin was intended to express a clear and unambiguous left-wing profile. The election result is the receipt for this."

But who then? Many Social Democrats can only think of one name: Kevin Kühnert. The former head of the Juso and No-Groko propagandist has gained enormous stature on his astonishing path to becoming general secretary. However, as is well known, Kühnert is ill. As long as this is the case, a second-best solution is needed, is what is often said.