Berlin state election 2026 — compare party programs

20 September 2026 · Abgeordnetenhaus · 10 parties · 65 topics

Positions from official programs side by side — not voting advice.

Not campaign material and not affiliated with any party.

Party programs for the 2026 Berlin state election

Positions of the 10 largest parties on transport, housing, climate, security, education, health, migration, and other issues — from their official programs.

Transport

A100 construction

CDU: push ahead with A100 continuation and support federal planning of the 17th section; keep cars as an indispensable part of mobility
SPD: instead of continuing A100 — repair streets and bridges, sustainable transport; A100 should end at Treptower Park
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: reject further A100 construction (17th section); close the 16th section until a traffic concept exists; reject the planned four-lane TVO in its current form
Die Linke: A100 should end at Treptower Park; remove the 17th section from the land-use plan and push for removal from federal law
AfD: for the 17th section A100 and closing the inner motorway ring
FDP: for rapid construction of the A100 via the 17th section to Storkower Straße
BSW: for continuing the 17th section of the A100 to Storkower Straße, taking residents’ interests into account and with mandatory public participation
Volt: Not addressed
Tierschutzpartei: stop further expansion of Stadtautobahn A100 and high-capacity roads such as TVO; outdated traffic forecasts, exploding costs, and counter to the transport transition (Verkehrswende) — fund climate-just mobility instead
ÖDP Berlin: Not addressed

Road construction

CDU: Tempo 50 as the rule on main roads; invest over €200 million in bridges in 2026/27; push A100 and build the eastern tangential road (TVO)
SPD: road network remains central for buses, emergency services, fire brigade, city cleaning and business traffic; instead of continuing A100, maintain streets and bridges and sustainable mobility; build the eastern tangential link (Tangentialverbindung Ost) as a road without blocking a later parallel S-Bahn
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: streets safer and fairer (Tempo 30, traffic calming, safe school routes); repair crumbling bridges/roads; no new motorways such as A100 — prefer retrofit over new motorways
Die Linke: against new motorways; emphasis on repairing roads and bridges, coordinating construction sites, in conflicts, priority for the environmental transport network; new road plans only where they serve the public good
AfD: A100 17th section; improve traffic flow on arterial roads instead of neighborhood traffic-calming blocks; monitoring the condition and needs of roads/parking; underground transport solutions
FDP: expand the road network: A100 to Storkower Straße, complete TVO, new roads in the northeast and south; Tempo 50 on important arterial roads; central coordination of construction sites
BSW: relieve bottlenecks in Berlin’s road network; finish A100 to Storkower Straße; expand TVO and coordinate major road/rail worksites faster
Volt: Vision Zero / safer intersections and Tempo 30; end worksite chaos so road and sidewalk works disrupt traffic only while work is actually happening
Tierschutzpartei: against new major roads for private car traffic (incl. A100 and TVO); fund climate-just mobility instead
ÖDP Berlin: give priority to mobility projects by environmental and public benefit; less car traffic

New U-Bahn lines / extensions

CDU: push extensions of U2, U3, U6, U7, U8 and U9; secure planning for U10; partial CBTC automation; denser S-Bahn to outer districts; advance i2030 rail with Brandenburg
SPD: continue U3 to Mexikoplatz, U7 to BER and Heerstraße, U8 to Märkisches Viertel; start planning U-Bahn Alexanderplatz–Hohenschönhausen
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: close gaps in the rail network; check which U-Bahn extensions/new builds are feasible by cost-benefit, ridership gains and network links
Die Linke: fully use the option for 1,500 U-Bahn cars and denser headways; expand the U-Bahn network mainly to close existing network gaps; extend the tram network into the west of the city
AfD: rapid expansion of the rail network (no named U-Bahn lines); CBTC for denser headways; traffic-light priority; better regional-rail integration; staffing drive for BVG/S-Bahn
FDP: annually build 1–2 km of U-Bahn; priority U8 to Märkisches Viertel, U1 to Ostkreuz/Halensee, U7 to BER, U2 to Pankow Kirche, U5 to Tegel, U9 southward, new express line Alexanderplatz—Marzahn
BSW: targeted expansion of U‑Bahn, S‑Bahn, trams and buses, especially outer districts; two cable cars and integration of “Gärten der Welt” into public transport
Volt: coordinate expansion of U-Bahn, tram, S-Bahn and regional rail in an integrated early way; prioritize full U-Bahn automation for higher frequency and round-the-clock stable operation
Tierschutzpartei: public-transport expansion — especially U-Bahn, S-Bahn and regional rail — as the top priority among all infrastructure projects; better connect outlying districts
ÖDP Berlin: expand public transport including S-Bahn and regional rail into the surrounding area; denser schedules

Cycling infrastructure

CDU: improve the bike network as needed: prioritize repairing existing paths, close gaps, develop cycle highways; Bike&Ride (bike boxes) at S-/U-Bahn stations
SPD: cycling plan and priority cycling network, cycle highways, more bike racks, bike parking garages and Bike&Ride with lighting and weather protection; support for bike-sharing system
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: end the bike-lane freeze; protected lanes and bike streets; advance Ost/West/Wannsee cycle highways; reliable winter clearing; expand Bike&Ride parking at stations
Die Linke: safe continuous network of bike lanes/streets and cycle highways per the network plan; protected lanes; expand Bike&Ride parking at stations; restore public bike-share with 30 free minutes plus a transit ticket
AfD: expansion “in moderation”: monitoring demand, routes on neighboring/parallel side streets, markings instead of modal filters, 1 000 modular lockable bike-parking spaces
FDP: expand bike streets parallel to arterial roads; thoroughly renew the network, cycle highways, repair existing paths; where routing through quiet streets is not possible — protected bike lanes at roadway level
BSW: connected and safe cycling network, especially in outer districts; bike lanes should not end “nowhere”; safe routing, where possible physically separated from cars
Volt: protected bike lanes, bike streets and cycle highways; build cycle highways consistently and quickly; Bike&Ride at stations
Tierschutzpartei: protected bike lanes on main streets, at least 365 km of new bike lanes per year, priority for cycling infrastructure over parking and car lanes
ÖDP Berlin: redesign streets for more and safer cycling

Parking

CDU: keep parking in public space; radically simplify paid parking management; affordable resident parking; expand neighborhood garages; more Bike&Ride and charging at mobility hubs
SPD: expand managed parking zones with Scan-Cars; higher resident-permit fees earmarked for the eco-mobility network (transit, cycling, walking) and neighborhood parking garages; after-hours supermarket/authority lots; digital parking guidance; more commercial short-stay and loading zones; upgrade Park&Ride
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: managed parking to curb non-resident all-day parking and free space for the eco-mobility network (transit, cycling, walking); raise resident parking fees (revenue shared, Land share to transit); Scan-Cars; expand craft parking permits to care workers; more reservable loading zones and micro-depots
Die Linke: expand managed paid parking and enforcement through Scan Cars; SUV parking more expensive following the Paris model; redistribute parts of streets/parking areas for walking/cycling, trees and quality of public space; delivery and service-vehicle parking zones for necessary traffic
AfD: restore removed parking spaces; digital parking management; managed paid parking reduce to the necessary minimum; resident parking should remain cheap; expand Park&Ride on the outskirts
FDP: demand-based parking fees; do not artificially reduce parking spaces; private underground garages; Park&Ride Mobility Hubs with reservable spaces at regional/S-Bahn lines
BSW: against the “unnecessary destruction of parking spaces”; parking management, neighborhood garages, loading zones and better organization of parked traffic; Park&Ride at the city edges
Volt: Park&Ride at city borders and in outer districts; paid digital parking based on size and emissions; reducing parking spaces for sidewalks, bike lanes, and greenery
Tierschutzpartei: expand Park&Ride; citywide paid parking with fees by vehicle size; cycling infrastructure has legal priority over parking spaces
ÖDP Berlin: more free Park&Ride spaces on the periphery

EV charging stations

CDU: continue expanding charging infrastructure; reliable public charging points; charging points in Park&Ride/Bike&Ride‑hubs; hydrogen as a supplement for heavy transport, buses, and ships
SPD: continue expanding public charging; additional charging points in store parking lots, fast charging while shopping; better charging infrastructure for passenger shipping
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: speed the shift to zero-emission vehicles — starting with BVG buses; stepwise zero-emission zone in line with the BEK (Berlin Energy and Climate Protection Programme 2030); zero-emission e-bus fleet — no separate pledges on public car chargers
Die Linke: public charging via the municipal utility, usable also by tenants without a private space; strengthen electric commercial traffic with small e-vans, e-cars and cargo bikes
AfD: Not addressed
FDP: rapid, demand-driven expansion of charging points across Berlin; cut bureaucracy and ease private investment; fast-charging hubs, supermarket chargers, smart charging in public space
BSW: Not addressed
Volt: pilot bidirectional charging so EV owners are paid for feeding stored power back to the grid; accelerate smart meters for households with electric cars
Tierschutzpartei: expand EV charging infrastructure and unify confusing payment options; private operators should run chargers more cooperatively; reserved fast chargers for e-taxis at taxi stands; support the shift to electric mobility while still reducing overall car traffic
ÖDP Berlin: Not addressed

Climate & energy

Climate neutrality

CDU: no dated city-wide climate-neutrality target; focus on “effective and affordable” climate policy (incl. district-heat decarbonization); reject shutting down the gas network
SPD: climate-neutral preferably before 2045; implement the Berlin Energy Transition Act; “Out of oil and gas. Into sun, wind and other renewables”
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: goal: climate-neutral Berlin by 2040; climate check for laws and measures; enforce the Berlin Climate Protection Act — mandatory action programs if targets are missed
Die Linke: climate-neutral Berlin by 2040 at latest; keep the CO2 budget anchored in the climate law; expand climate impact assessment into a climate safeguard; sector targets for energy supply, transport, buildings and the economy
AfD: repeal Berlin’s Climate Protection and Energy Transition Act; replace it with a Secure Energy Act focused on security of supply, affordability and reliability
FDP: climate-neutral, but above all cheap, reliable, and innovative; technology openness, private investment, hydrogen, geothermal energy, solar, smart heating grids
BSW: against activism for fixed target marks; take energy plants such as coal plants offline only when enough competitive secure alternatives exist; abolish the CO2 price; keep affordable secure supply and technology openness
Volt: turn the BEK (Berlin Energy and Climate Protection Programme 2030) measures catalogue into a real acceleration plan that closes the 2022–2026 implementation gap; annual public reporting on delivery progress
Tierschutzpartei: Berlin climate-neutral by 2035 at latest (non-negotiable); public administration climate-neutral by 2035; also implement the “Berlin climate-neutral by 2030” referendum; binding CO₂ budget, shadow price, heat fully renewable by 2035
ÖDP Berlin: Berlin climate-neutral as quickly as possible, not only by 2045; coal phase-out by 2030; align with Fridays/Scientists for Future demands

Tree planting and care

CDU: increase the number of street trees to 1 million by 2040; realistic goals, district involvement and reliable funding
SPD: +70% city trees by 2040; plant empty tree pits by 2027; new sites ideally every 15 m; prioritize tree retention in planning
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: plant one million additional trees; BäumePlus (trees-plus) Act; planting in heat hotspots, on sealed surfaces and in dense neighborhoods; reliable care and rainwater use
Die Linke: street trees to 1 million by 2040 under the BäumePlus (trees-plus) law / Tree Referendum; funding for planting and care; use parking spaces where needed; strengthen green-space offices and watering
AfD: replace every felled tree; transparent tree balances; more care for green spaces and forests
FDP: regularly plant additional street trees, ensure continuous care and watering; make it easier for neighborhood initiatives to care for trees and greenery
BSW: turn the decisions of the Berlin tree petition (Berliner Baumbegehren) into real tree-planting drives: reliable budget funding, priority for new planting and care; green roofs, facades and courtyards as the rule for new builds
Volt: plant more street trees for shade and accessible places to stay
Tierschutzpartei: tighten Berlin’s tree-protection ordinance with binding nearby replacement planting; expand urban greenery in dense, heat-stressed and disadvantaged neighbourhoods, with secured long-term care
ÖDP Berlin: protect city trees, hedges and woody plants as nesting sites and habitats for animals

Heat protection

CDU: implement the existing Berlin Climate Adaptation Act approach in planning; more street trees (to 1 million by 2040); expand drinking fountains
SPD: Berlin Climate Adaptation Act; more greenery and cool spaces, Mini‑Parks, water and drinking fountains; act in hot spots, where heat, noise, pollution, and social burden overlap
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: climate islands with shade, water and seating in hot districts; more trees, drinking fountains and misting on heat days; annually evaluate and develop the heat action plan
Die Linke: socially differentiated heat-protection plan with binding measures and funding; cool rooms in every neighborhood, shade on playgrounds and splash pads; do not build on cold-air generation areas such as Tempelhofer Feld
AfD: Not addressed
FDP: climate adaptation focus: urban ventilation, shading, water management, extreme-weather prep, health precautions and climate monitoring — no separate heat plan / public cooling-rooms program
BSW: invest in street trees, facade/roof greening, open water, drinking fountains and cool rooms; more public drinking points
Volt: expand Berlin’s heat action plan (coordination, funding, science); public map of free cool rooms and drinking fountains; more street trees for shade
Tierschutzpartei: free vegan sunscreen in busy places, more drinking fountains, shade, light-colored surfaces, greening roofs and facades, heat-protection standards for construction and renovation
ÖDP Berlin: cool the city via parks, trees and summer evaporation (Verdunstung); ecological urban rainwater management with storage and drainage concepts

Sponge city / rainwater / unsealing

CDU: develop Berlin as a sponge city; catch, store and use rainwater; decentralized rainwater use, green roofs/facades, more storage, fewer combined-sewer discharges; protect water bodies
SPD: “sponge city” with Berlin Waterworks and the rainwater agency; disconnect more rainwater from the sewer system, infiltrate it on site and use it for greenery
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: keep rainwater in the city (unsealing, green roofs, rain gardens, infiltration strips, rain barrels); strong unsealing program toward net-zero sealing; preserve cool-air corridors; net-zero sealing by 2030 (no net increase in sealed surfaces)
Die Linke: unsealing, on-site infiltration and rainwater management; improve disconnecting surfaces from combined sewers; strengthen the rainwater agency; net-zero sealing by 2030 (no net increase in sealed surfaces)
AfD: separate rainwater and wastewater system; 4th treatment stage; unsealing where possible, and rainwater tanks
FDP: treat rainwater as a resource and handle heavy rain as a sponge city; citywide rainwater management; decentralized capture/infiltration at buildings and in street space; rainwater-management pilot districts
BSW: planning principle: rain does not go into the sewer, infiltrates, is stored or used; more unsealing and rainwater use
Volt: store rainwater on site; systematic unsealing with permeable surfaces; simplify permits for green roofs/facades and water-collection tanks
Tierschutzpartei: store, infiltrate and evaporate rainwater on site; mandatory rainwater concepts for new builds and renovations
ÖDP Berlin: innovative storage and drainage concepts; modernize/integrate systems with Berliner Wasserbetriebe; use roof rainwater to water street trees and parks; fund sponge systems with green roofs

Solar / photovoltaics

CDU: Berlin is already a solar leader; develop PV on large and public roofs, at municipal housing companies; against mandatory solar panel installation, repeal the Berlin Solar Act
SPD: by 2035, 25% of electricity generated in Berlin from solar via Masterplan Solarcity, SolarPlus, PV and grid-serving storage
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: all technically suitable public buildings with solar installations by 2030; strengthen SolarPLUS and Solar Center; tenant electricity from local solar installations, community PV, balcony PV with batteries; PV in parking lots and other sealed areas
Die Linke: Masterplan Solarcity: 4.4 GW potential; solar installations on all suitable public-building roofs by 2030 with monitoring and consequences for non-compliance; support for balcony solar panels and tenant electricity from local solar installations
AfD: against additional state PV retrofit mandates; weather-dependent sources cannot guarantee supply security for a metropolis
FDP: develop solar installations and storage, remove bureaucratic barriers; against mandatory solar on new and existing buildings
BSW: PV important for Berlin, but expansion only together with grids, storage, electrolyzers, power-to-heat (converting surplus electricity into heat) and reserve capacities
Volt: solar program; all suitable public buildings with solar installations by 2031; PV in parking lots, along motorways and railways; support for tenant electricity from local solar installations and citizen projects
Tierschutzpartei: specific PV targets; use all suitable roofs, facades, parking lots, parking structures, noise barriers, and cycle highways; strengthen Solar Center Berlin
ÖDP Berlin: expansion of photovoltaics and solar installations by removing bureaucratic barriers; PV on all public-building roofs

Wind energy

CDU: against large wind turbines in Berlin, especially in forests and recreation areas; at federal level reform area requirements for city-states
SPD: renewables course includes wind (“into sun, wind, and other renewables”); no separate Berlin wind-turbine siting program
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: designate areas for wind; preferably commercial and industrial areas, not forests; round tables, local residents’ participation in revenues; pilots for small wind turbines on high-rises
Die Linke: expansion of wind energy with participation of residents and districts; implement the Wind-on-Land Act (federal rules to designate onshore wind areas); preferably industrial areas, without harming nature; districts share in profits
AfD: strictly reject wind turbines in Berlin, especially in forests; reject the 0.5% federal land target for wind in Berlin
FDP: make greater use of small wind turbines; surplus wind energy use through sector coupling, e.g. for heating and hydrogen
BSW: against wind turbines in Berlin; initiative to change the Wind-on-Land Act to abolish area targets; supports repowering old turbines where they already stand (replace with fewer, more powerful modern ones)
Volt: coordinate the expansion of wind and solar energy in Brandenburg with reduction of fossil energy in Berlin; use green energy without curtailing wind power
Tierschutzpartei: put in place 8 wind-energy sites in Berlin, including Tegel, Gatow and Müggelheim; participation of residents, cooperatives, and municipal utilities in revenues
ÖDP Berlin: Not addressed

Gas and gas network

CDU: gas and the gas network remain important for reliable and affordable heat; against shutting down the gas network; competition between gas, district heating and heat pumps
SPD: phase out fossil heating (“out of oil and gas”); convert the gas network toward an H₂ core network for large users; long-term GASAG buyback for climate transformation
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: gas distribution network largely not decarbonizable and in the medium/long term largely unnecessary; partial conversion to green hydrogen only for industry/commerce without alternatives; socially fair phase-out of unnecessary network sections through negotiations with GASAG
Die Linke: fossil gas phase-out socially and infrastructurally coordinated; replace gas heating as quickly as possible, no longer install it in public buildings; at an appropriate price — remunicipalization/socialization of GASAG
AfD: keep coal and gas power plants plus diverse import power for peak load and to prevent blackouts; technology-open baseload mix; replace the Climate Protection and Energy Transition Act (Klimaschutz- und Energiewendegesetz) with a Sichere-Energie-Gesetz — gas distribution network not addressed
FDP: no ban on exiting the gas network; defossilize heat via technology openness (hydrogen for heat, geothermal, smart grids, third-party waste heat into district heating)
BSW: against dismantling the gas network; support for remunicipalizing GASAG; use Nord Stream again; gas/coal do not switch off until competitive and reliable alternatives exist
Volt: overcome gas dependence (most households and about three-quarters of district heating still on natural gas); replace fossil power/heat with renewables, (large) heat pumps and storage
Tierschutzpartei: against expanding fossil gas today with a later hydrogen-swap promise (fossil lock-in); heat via renewables, heat pumps and district heating instead
ÖDP Berlin: coal phase-out by 2030

Hydrogen

CDU: hydrogen for industry and power plants; research cluster; infrastructure along transport axes, logistics centers and industrial zones; hydrogen regional trains
SPD: build a hydrogen economy; hydrogen in individual apartments technically limited, there will be less climate-neutral gas
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: green hydrogen not for heating in the foreseeable future; partial conversion of the gas network to a green-H₂ network only where industry/commercial sites cannot otherwise become climate-neutral
Die Linke: only green hydrogen and only where there is no direct electric alternative: ships/aviation, industry, peaks in district heating; not as mass heating
AfD: Not addressed
FDP: comprehensive hydrogen strategy Berlin‑Brandenburg: production, networks, storage, large consumers; showcase‑region for hydrogen mobility and pilots for trucks, trains, ships, and cars
BSW: expand the H₂ network only in line with demand for green hydrogen; focus use in energy-intensive industry, high-temperature processes and gas plants; invest in electrolyzers; technology openness for hydrogen and synthetic fuels
Volt: Tegel as a Green Tech Hub for hydrogen and recycling technology test fields; modular biogas plant for bio-waste that should later also run on hydrogen to cover peak demand
Tierschutzpartei: reject hydrogen as a general heating solution; green H₂ scarce/costly and mainly needed where no electric alternative (e.g. steel, chemicals, aviation); reject fossil-gas-now/H₂-later lock-in; H₂ only where direct electrification is impossible
ÖDP Berlin: notes that BEW’s announced conversion of gas power plants to “fossil-free” hydrogen by 2040 still lacks concrete, practicable implementation plans

Heat pumps

CDU: heat pumps as part of competition between energy systems; use where sensible and economical; shallow and deep geothermal energy
SPD: replace fossil heating via heat planning; promote heat pumps with storage, near-surface geothermal energy, and district/neighborhood heat
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: additional support for heat pumps, especially in single-/two-family houses and suitable apartment buildings; large heat pumps, deep geothermal energy and waste heat from data centers/wastewater
Die Linke: outside heating grids, electrification is usually the most efficient; large heat pumps using river and wastewater for heating supply; geothermal energy and waste heat
AfD: Not addressed
FDP: Not addressed
BSW: against forcing heat pumps people cannot afford; create conditions where heat pumps make economic/technical sense — integrated into district heat with storage; support geothermal demonstration plants and research
Volt: retrain installers from conventional heating to heat pumps; systematically convert district heating to large and river heat pumps plus waste heat from data centers, industry and U-Bahn; smart meters for heat-pump households
Tierschutzpartei: heat-transition fund for heat pumps, neighborhood heat, geothermal and solar thermal; PV, heat pumps, storage and smart controls as standard in municipal buildings
ÖDP Berlin: Not addressed

District heating transformation

CDU: expand and decarbonize district heating after buying Berlin’s district-heating system; Climate Pact: more than €0.5bn for district-heating build-out and decarbonization; municipal heat planning with security of supply and affordability
SPD: expand district heating via the Berlin-owned provider; network buyback enables decarbonization; BSR should take a stronger role for a climate-neutral Berlin and use waste heat
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: priority — decarbonize district heating before network expansion; BEW invest in large heat pumps, deep geothermal and waste heat (data centers/wastewater); against wood-fired CHP and planned waste incineration at Klingenberg
Die Linke: expansion of district heating and local heating grids; goal — decarbonizing heat with security of supply and affordability; heating agency, neighborhood concepts, power-to-heat (converting surplus electricity into heat), storage; do not count waste incineration as decarbonization
AfD: end debt-financed decarbonization of Berlin’s district heating (criticizes up to €10bn); no heat-price rises from climate measures; keep fossils in the mix where needed
FDP: cut CO2 in district heating and expand central/local heating grids; allow third-party producers, e.g. waste heat from data centers and industry; sector coupling — surplus wind for heat/hydrogen; smart heating grids
BSW: district heat via municipal heat planning; keep gas network; shut coal only when alternatives exist; storage / power-to-heat (converting surplus electricity into heat) / electrolyzers — no forced fossil-plant replacement timetable or dynamic heat tariffs
Volt: science-based BEW decarbonization roadmap replacing plants with large heat pumps; expand district heating for affordable climate-neutral heat; community heat options
Tierschutzpartei: fully renewable heat by 2035; heat-transition fund and renovations that stay neutral for warm rents; accelerate district heating and remunicipalize key heat infrastructure; transparent municipal heat planning
ÖDP Berlin: push the heat transition in older buildings; climate-neutral buildings via renovation without extra tenant burden; coal phase-out by 2030; new builds to Passive House level

Nuclear energy

CDU: Not addressed
SPD: Not addressed
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Not addressed
Die Linke: Not addressed
AfD: return to nuclear power as part of a technology-open mix; make Berlin a center of nuclear research again; modern 3rd/4th-generation reactors for baseload
FDP: Not addressed
BSW: Not addressed
Volt: Not addressed
Tierschutzpartei: Not addressed
ÖDP Berlin: Not addressed

Cleanliness & waste

Zero Waste / waste prevention

CDU: prevention before recycling; expand reusable systems and avoid unnecessary packaging; circular economy in construction
SPD: Zero-Waste approach (prevention first); packaging tax on takeaway food packaging; continue NochMall and the repair bonus; raise wood-waste recycling above 25%; more organic-waste bins and more BSR composting/sorting in Berlin
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: implement the Zero-Waste strategy; citywide tax on single-use packaging, dishes and cutlery; expand Repair-Cafés, reuse stores and sharing platforms; strengthen wood-waste recycling
Die Linke: strengthen the Zero-Waste agency; expand the repair bonus and repair networks; at least one second-hand store and one neighborhood circular-economy hub per district; raise recycling quotas; phase out single-use packaging
AfD: Not addressed
FDP: barcode app to help sort packaging waste; more circular construction and recycled materials in public buildings
BSW: circular economy as part of Berlin’s sustainability agenda; free bulky-waste collection at least twice a year; mobile recycling stations in neighborhoods
Volt: packaging tax to cut single-use waste and fund citywide reusable-return infrastructure; Zero-Waste education workshops; Repair-Cafés and a stronger repair bonus; no new waste incinerators
Tierschutzpartei: packaging tax on single-use packaging; standardized reusable and deposit systems; repair/swap cafés in every neighborhood, reuse hubs and a repair bonus; circular building; material recycling before incineration
ÖDP Berlin: extend deposit/take-back rules to all reusable packaging types and more non-reusable containers; promote packaging-free retail; Bundesrat initiative against problematic packaging (e.g. plastic welded to aluminium); circular economy without greenwashing

BSR / waste collection and infrastructure

CDU: BSR expands cleaning in parks, playgrounds and forests; low-threshold paid BSR bulky-waste pickup (incl. evening hours); more separate bins and underground containers
SPD: BSR cleans all playgrounds now and all parks/green spaces by 2030; cleaning cycles by need; staff by waste volumes; free bulky-waste pickup twice a year; more neighborhood collection days
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: BSR to clean all parks and playgrounds; adapt BSR Kieztage to daily life with more weekend dates; free bulky-waste disposal once a year per household; quarterly low-threshold bulky-waste days
Die Linke: more recycling centers and nearby drop-offs (incl. bulky-waste spots in large estates); underground containers in new quarters; expand BSR Kieztage for bulky waste and recycling; free bulky-waste pickup twice a year; more investment in BSR facilities
AfD: develop existing BSR‑recycling centers; BSR should be directly authorized to act during winter ice, with less bureaucracy
FDP: all green spaces, currently cleaned by districts, transfer to BSR; free bulky-waste pickup by arrangement; BSR neighborhood collection days more often and in more locations; separate Berlin Recycling (commercial waste) from BSR and privatize it
BSW: BSR is responsible for cleaning sidewalks and bike lanes; regular free bulky-waste pickup at least twice a year; mobile recycling stations by district
Volt: link Berlin-Pay with the BSR “Kehrenbürger volunteer-cleanup program”; neighborhood recycling points for recyclables, hazardous waste, and bulky waste
Tierschutzpartei: decentralized points for bulky waste and hazardous waste; BSR neighborhood collection days at least twice a month in every district
ÖDP Berlin: service-oriented disposal: decentralized points for bulky waste and hazardous waste

Cleanliness / enforcement / littering

CDU: fines; about 30,000 public bins by 2030; underground containers; mobile video/AI against waste hotspots
SPD: recognize cleanup volunteering with Ehrenamtskarte and vouchers; continue and expand BSR Kehrenbürger cleanups; teach waste prevention/recycling early; more BSR sorting plants; longer hours and new BSR recycling centers in heavily burdened districts
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: BSR to clean all parks and playgrounds; keep park runners and neighborhood managers permanently; more convenient BSR neighborhood collection days (esp. weekends); free bulky-waste disposal once a year plus quarterly bulky-waste days
Die Linke: more bins and cleaning in polluted areas; cleanup actions; park rangers into permanent funding; public-order offices systematically enforce mandatory offer of reusable packaging; involve neighborhood councils in cleanliness
AfD: 24/7 public-order offices with consistent fines; mobile cleanup teams; video at waste hotspots; enough bins; waste sheriffs / Waste-Watchers; faster removal of abandoned cars and homeless camps
FDP: more bins and more frequent collection in parks; underground containers as standard; cleaning robots; digital fill-level sensors; public-order offices give priority to illegal dumping
BSW: permanent “Berlin Cleans Up” campaign with schools, clubs, and neighborhoods; district cleaning teams, response to illegal dumping within 24 hours
Volt: more bins and separate containers for cigarette butts; multilingual information on sorting; enforcement against illegal dumping; packaging tax and reusable-packaging infrastructure
Tierschutzpartei: more and larger bins, separate containers, dog-waste bags, “Berlin kippenfrei” (cigarette-butt free), stronger enforcement against illegal dumping
ÖDP Berlin: crack down on illegal dumping, waste exports and landfills; better monitoring and sanctions; expand deposit/return and recycling procurement

Animals

Animal protection

CDU: ban selling pets in public places; stronger control of online platforms; tougher federal penalties for illegal pet trade
SPD: strengthen veterinary services against illegal animal trade; ban animals on state stages and circuses with wild animals; public spaces as habitat for urban nature and animals
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: mandatory origin proof in the dog register against illegal puppy trade; lasting funding for shelters, pet food banks and wildlife stations plus an emergency fund; expand animal-free research and gradually replace animal experiments
Die Linke: strengthen animal rights: independent state animal-welfare commissioner, law giving organizations standing to sue; plan to phase out animal testing, funding for the Berlin animal shelter and animal food/help bank, neutering street cats; abolish the list of “dangerous” dog breeds
AfD: abolish dog tax; second state-run shelter; state subsidy for Berlin shelter energy costs; more veterinary-office staff; strengthen 3R research to reduce animal experiments (not a research ban)
FDP: protect dogs from stigmatization, to improve their chances of adoption from shelters; measures on pigeons: closing wild nesting sites, deterrence measures, Ovistop pigeon fertility control, if ineffective — pest-control rules
BSW: animal protection as a state task; phase out animal testing with funding priority for animal-free methods; stable basic funding for shelters and organizations; multi-year funding, crisis fund, and cost coverage after confiscations
Volt: plan urban development and animal protection together; green-blue corridors linking streets, canals and parks for wildlife; ban breeding and use of wild animals for entertainment
Tierschutzpartei: species-protection program; wildlife-safe city bins; phase out animal testing; fund the shelter and expand freeroaming-cat neutering; phase out selling animals in pet stores; no circus animal keeping/acts on state land
ÖDP Berlin: stricter protection of city trees and hedges as habitats; keep Tempelhofer Feld and water bodies for animals too; preserve Berlin forests; ban research animal testing and create a chair for animal-free research

Housing

Tempelhofer Feld

CDU: for housing on the edges of the field — “20,000 new apartments”
SPD: keep the field; no edge housing while unused building potential remains elsewhere; state-owned and cooperative housing around the airport building without entering the field
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: against development; “the referendum is binding”; the field is “irreplaceable”
Die Linke: preserve Tempelhofer Feld entirely as open land; keep the referendum law; against development and privatization; develop the airport building as a social, ecological and cultural future district
AfD: Not addressed
FDP: start edge development immediately without a new vote; possible special economic zone “Frei-Kiez” on part of the field
BSW: Not addressed
Volt: Tempelhofer Feld as a test site for agri-photovoltaics and mobile energy storage; scale what works, end what does not — not framed as housing or edge development
Tierschutzpartei: keep Tempelhofer Feld permanently unbuilt; respect the 2014 referendum (change only by a new vote); reject edge development for cooling/air and health; open the airport building for common-good culture, sport and education
ÖDP Berlin: keep Tempelhofer Feld unbuilt as public leisure and recreation space per the Berlin referendum; allow partial conversion of the airport building into apartments

Rent cap (Mietendeckel)

CDU: firm “no” to a rent cap (Mietendeckel); instead a rent-price review office and free energy advice
SPD: goal: a legally robust rent cap (Mietendeckel) via a federal opening clause for the states or Article 15 of the Basic Law; new rent oversight; rent-price check app
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Affordable Rents Act: owners with more than 50 apartments must rent a share of new leases at least 20% below the average price; calculate the rent index (Mietspiegel) over 20 years instead of 6; rent cap (Mietendeckel) via a federal opening clause for the states
Die Linke: rent cap for municipal housing (LWU) within the first 100 days: one-year freeze, then max 1% increase per year in the Housing Supply Act; push a federal rent cap; commercial rent cap to protect small shops, daycares, Spätis and clubs
AfD: no price regulation: “the best brake on prices is sufficient housing supply,” so remove obstacles to private renting; instead housing benefit top-ups for WBS holders and full transparency of heating bills and heat contracting
FDP: against a rent cap (Mietendeckel); “rents TÜV” review of laws that raise building costs and rents; annual rent index (Mietspiegel) based on real data without political influence
BSW: another attempt at a rent cap (Mietendeckel): Bundesrat initiative for a nationwide cap in tight markets such as Berlin, or to let the states introduce it themselves; enforce existing rental rules consistently
Volt: against rigid rent caps (Mietendeckel) and blanket expropriations — evidence that they shrink supply and slow modernization; keep the rent brake (Mietpreisbremse) in tight-market neighborhoods, simplify checks of permissible rent, and introduce a tamper-proof digital housing database for rent-index transparency and to expose vacancies and speculation
Tierschutzpartei: restore a binding state rent cap (Mietendeckel) for public housing stock: new leases at least 10% below the local comparative rent, WBS apartments at max €6.50/m², warm rent capped at 30% of income with protection against termination during temporary payment hardship; statewide rent register and a landlord license
ÖDP Berlin: fair tenancy law against rack-renting and property speculation; housing should not primarily serve investor interests

New construction and targets

CDU: Berlin housing offensive: 100,000 new apartments by 2031; standardized Berlin multi-family house (Berlin-MFH); cut environmental, species and heritage-protection rules back to the minimum required by federal/EU law
SPD: large public/cooperative new-build push (majority of new homes with LWU, co-ops and nonprofits; 100,000 in 2026–2031); raise social-housing share in the cooperative land model to 50%; curb demolition and tackle neglected/junk properties
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: building turnaround: use resources better, avoid vacancy, prevent demolition where possible; office-to-housing conversion support and a moratorium on new office buildings while over 2.2 million m² of offices stand empty; Schumacher timber district
Die Linke: up to €2 billion a year in equity for state-owned housing companies to build 7,500 municipal apartments annually, permanently affordable
AfD: more rental housing by cutting barriers for private investment; streamline the Berlin building code; for approved new builds, skip separate demolition permits for prior structures; ease rules so alterations and new builds are easier
FDP: add residential floors on retail and other suitable sites; develop new neighborhoods; partially cancel some well-connected inner-city allotment gardens for housing (keep/create gardens outside the center); start Tempelhofer Feld edge development immediately; resume selling surplus state building plots; allow voluntary conversion of vacant commercial, office and shop space into housing
BSW: binding target of at least 6,000 new social-housing units per year, permanently social; stop selling state land — long-term leasehold mainly to municipal housing companies and non-profit cooperatives; Berlin student-housing fund to build affordable dorm places within five years
Volt: secure land for 300,000 new apartments in the urban development plan to 2040; simplify converting vacant commercial and existing space into housing (room for 30,000 apartments in existing buildings); extra storeys, flexible standards, and digital-map/satellite searches for vacant and infill sites; apply heritage and neighborhood protection more flexibly; use the Hamburg standard for faster, cheaper building
Tierschutzpartei: reuse before new build: convert vacant offices, oversized shopping centers and underused properties into housing, social facilities, culture and education; densify only on already sealed or underused sites such as single-story commercial buildings, parking lots and supermarket plots; mandatory high ecological and energy standards for new projects
ÖDP Berlin: against excessive densification that endangers green space and allotment gardens; municipal land only for municipal and cooperative housing; housing before offices; convert vacant industrial buildings into housing; revive social housing under city ownership; goal: 15-minute city of short distances

Public ownership of large landlords

CDU: categorical “no” to expropriations and compulsory administration
SPD: no program to socialize large landlords; cites the “Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co.” referendum as proof Berliners reject rent-gouging by big listed firms; grow public stock via LWU/co-ops and targeted purchases instead
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: implement “Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co.”; keep pushing socialization as legally possible and financeable; for speculative vacancy after six months — compulsory administration and, as a last resort, socialization
Die Linke: implement the “Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co.” referendum result (59.1%, ~220,000 apartments) through a socialization law
AfD: strictly reject expropriation of housing companies; instead foster an investment-friendly climate for private rental construction
FDP: reject expropriation and socialization of private apartments — “this creates not a single new apartment,” wastes billions and scares off investors; reject expropriation/socialization plans as alien to the Basic Law and oppose reinterpretations of Article 15 GG; protect the right to property and already acquired ownership
BSW: implement the “Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co.” referendum; for prolonged vacancy without good reason, examine trustee letting through the district; socialization remains a last resort
Volt: reject blanket expropriations — evidence they shrink supply, slow modernization and tie up billions in compensation needed for new builds; instead a “price anchor” by massively expanding municipal and cooperative stock toward up to 50% socially oriented housing
Tierschutzpartei: socialize large housing portfolios under Article 15 GG; several legal opinions confirm it can be done constitutionally; implement “Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co.” with public administration and fair compensation — transfer to socially oriented management for stable rents, less displacement and democratic control
ÖDP Berlin: no explicit socialization of large landlords; essential public services of general interest “must without exception return to public ownership”; tax to curb land speculation on designated vacant building land

Municipal stock, social housing, WBS

CDU: expand municipal housing companies’ stock to 500,000 apartments with equity injections; digitalize WBS (Wohnberechtigungsschein / eligibility certificate) and housing-benefit applications; target social housing at those who need it, with income checks on re-letting
SPD: public housing construction program; more than half of new builds via municipal companies, cooperatives and other common-good landlords; raise social-housing share in the cooperative building-land model to 50%; broaden WBS eligibility for single parents
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: further develop municipal housing companies as lasting common-good actors; raise the WBS (eligibility certificate) quota in allocations; Genossenschaftspakt (“cooperative pact”) for bureaucracy reduction, financing and land access
Die Linke: grow the ~400,000 municipal apartments (LWU), including Berlinovo as a seventh company, and keep buying stock; inside the S-Bahn ring, 100% of vacated LWU units to WBS households (up to WBS 220); landlords with >1,000 units must let every second re-let affordably
AfD: priority for long-term Berlin residents when allocating municipal and subsidized housing, via a points system (“apartments are not asylum shelters”); supplement housing benefit with rent top-ups for WBS holders; reintroduce a misallocation levy (Fehlbelegungsabgabe) on social housing
FDP: municipal housing companies build simple modular apartments on state land and focus on energy renovation of their stock; long term, prefer subject subsidies (housing benefit) over object subsidies for social housing; districts get a share of proceeds from state land sales
BSW: binding target of at least 6,000 new social-housing units per year, mainly via municipal companies; public subsidies only with permanent rent and occupancy ties so units stay social housing
Volt: raise the common-good housing stock toward up to 50% (cooperatives, municipal companies, multigenerational and employer housing) via hereditary building right (Erbbaurecht); keep social quotas on large new builds; Fehlbelegungsabgabe (misallocation levy) earmarked for new social housing; social rental agency to sublet market flats to low-income tenants
Tierschutzpartei: state rent cap for the public stock; WBS apartments at max €6.50/m²; sharply raise the mandatory social-housing quota in new builds; strengthen a land/housing fund with credit lines and active buy-backs of buildings hit by vacancy, decay or insolvency
ÖDP Berlin: revive and expand social housing under municipal management; strengthen municipal housing companies and cooperatives and give them priority when selling public land and property

Vacancy, tourist apartments, speculation

CDU: strengthen enforcement against misuse of housing (Zweckentfremdung); introduce property tax C (Grundsteuer C) on build-ready vacant plots; apply building orders (Baugebote) when permits sit unused for two years
SPD: tighten the ban on misuse of housing and cut allowed holiday-let days; vacancy reporting duty and a progressive vacancy tax
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: tighten the Zweckentfremdung ban (min. €50,000 fine) and further curb holiday lets; after six months of vacancy — compulsory administration, socialization as last resort; property tax C and strict building orders against land speculation
Die Linke: comprehensive ban on holiday apartments in residential buildings; abolish the “Berliner Linie” and replace it with a vacancy law; occupying housing vacant for at least a year should lead to lasting housing rights unless owners commit to reletting at socially acceptable rents
AfD: Not addressed
FDP: Not addressed
BSW: act more firmly against speculative vacancy; for prolonged vacancy without good reason, examine trustee letting through the district; effectively ban converting apartments into tourist accommodation and reorganize district staffing for enforcement
Volt: tamper-proof digital housing database to make rents transparent and expose vacancy and speculation; digitally map vacant commercial space for reuse
Tierschutzpartei: end vacancy, punish misuse of housing, and strictly control holiday apartments — with clearly more staff so checks and reactivation actually happen
ÖDP Berlin: Not addressed

Condo conversions and eviction for personal use

CDU: Berlin ownership bonus for first owner-occupied purchase (€10k per adult, €5k per child); keep the conversion ordinance as tenant protection; reject a permanent privatization ban
SPD: make the ban on converting rentals to condominiums permanent; limit personal-use evictions to the nuclear family and ban “purchased” personal use; ban index-linked leases and cut the rent-increase cap to max 6% over three years; stop passing property tax to tenants; protect tenants already living in a flat when it is converted
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: stop converting rentals into condos; make the conversion ban permanent; make owner-occupancy evictions much harder
Die Linke: permanent ban on converting rentals to condominiums; constitutional ban on privatizing municipal housing; “personal use” eviction only for first-degree relatives with stronger hardship protection; statewide database of such evictions and a public transparency register
AfD: limit Milieuschutz zones’ side effects (investment/new-build chill); ease rules so alterations and new builds are easier; help tenants become owners — no position on personal-use evictions
FDP: Only 16 % of Berliners live in their own home → permit the conversion of rental apartments into condominiums throughout the city (tenant protections remain), repeal bans on such conversions, abolish areas with special protection against displacement, and do not exercise the city’s right of first refusal
BSW: Not addressed
Volt: Not addressed
Tierschutzpartei: protect tenants from displacement, luxury modernization and condo conversions; expand neighborhood-protection zones; require owners to allow same-rent apartment swaps; legally secure the city’s right of first refusal
ÖDP Berlin: Not addressed

Tax on first home purchase

CDU: cut real-estate transfer tax on a first owner-occupied purchase: waive it on up to €300k of the price when the purchase is ≤ €800k; claw back if sold within 10 years
SPD: raise real-estate transfer tax by 0.5 percentage points overall; exceptions for owner-occupiers; possible lower self-use rate after a federal Share-Deal crackdown — not a blanket first-buyer exemption
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: raise real-estate transfer tax at least to Brandenburg’s level and socially stagger it: owner-occupiers pay less, large companies and Share Deals pay more
Die Linke: no first-buyer real-estate transfer tax relief; raise the rate from 6.0% to 8.0% (at least Brandenburg’s 6.5%)
AfD: fully abolish real-estate transfer tax for domestic first-time buyers of owner-occupied homes; introduce 20% real-estate transfer tax for investors based outside the EU
FDP: cut real-estate transfer tax for owner-occupied purchases: first €750,000 of the price tax-free, remainder at the normal rate; financed by selling state building land
BSW: no first-buyer real-estate transfer tax allowance; Bundesrat initiative for stricter Share-Deal limits so housing corporations cannot dodge the tax while ordinary buyers pay
Volt: federal initiative: one-time real-estate transfer tax allowance of €36,000 per person — effectively a full exemption up to €600,000 purchase price per person
Tierschutzpartei: progressive real-estate transfer tax: allowances for those with little land ownership, higher rates for larger holdings — ease access for housing projects/co-ops and curb land speculation
ÖDP Berlin: Not addressed

Evictions and homelessness

CDU: fight homelessness with early help and stronger structures; Housing First as one approach; more suitable offers especially for women experiencing homelessness
SPD: end homelessness by 2030; create a SozialWohnWerk (social housing works) including conversion of vacant offices; 2,500 apartments in the protected market segment under Housing First
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: expand Housing First with municipal companies for unconditional access to one’s own home; push for an eviction moratorium and a prevention concept against homelessness
Die Linke: no municipal forced evictions for rent arrears; double the protected housing market to 2,500 apartments/year; 10% of new/re-lets of municipal and funded housing for people affected by homelessness
AfD: combat homelessness: many homeless people lack a German passport and a long-term prospect of staying, so use return options more actively; help should be “targeted, humane and realistic”
FDP: comprehensive Housing First strategy; municipal companies should also provide housing for people at risk of homelessness; consistently prevent homeless camps while offering alternative accommodation
BSW: over 55,000 homeless, at least 6,000 on the street, risk of up to 100,000 by decade’s end; Housing First puts the apartment first with voluntary support (Finland: ~€15,000 saved per person/year)
Volt: statewide Housing First building program: a private apartment and support instead of costly collective shelters; Finland’s example — homelessness down ~80%
Tierschutzpartei: early intervention on rent arrears (mediation, free debt counseling); anchor Housing First as a basic principle so no one is forced onto the street
ÖDP Berlin: homelessness must be actively combated

Security

Police in neighborhoods

CDU: Expand the list of “high-crime locations,” security on public transport, “effective, forceful justice (schlagkräftige Justiz)”
SPD: Community Policing, foot and bicycle patrols, personnel on U- and S-Bahn, investment program for police stations
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: prevention as the main tool: youth social and cultural work in poor neighborhoods (especially for young men); make police training more attractive
Die Linke: measure security not by policing criteria but by addressing social causes; examine whether staff growth is needed (comparison with other city-states), and abandon the increasingly costly expansion of powers; “more police” does not mean more safety for BIPoC and trans people; strengthen only water-police oversight
AfD: mobile police stations in problem neighborhoods and a denser network of fixed stations; more staff for police, judiciary and fire service; area-wide video surveillance of hotspots
FDP: More police and neighborhood contact officers, “no-go areas are unacceptable,” renovate stations; better equipment and more staff for police, the judiciary, fire services, and emergency services; “prevention before repression, but where necessary — consistent enforcement of the law”
BSW: More police presence and better equipment, more staff and better training, plus “smart prevention” — but “without blanket surveillance or prejudgment”; community-oriented police and swift justice
Volt: Clearance rate below 50 percent: prevention (street outreach, youth welfare, men in social professions, exit programs) plus more police and judicial staff for denser patrols and consistent punishment; sensible division of tasks between the police and public-order service so police officers can focus on core duties
Tierschutzpartei: expand police stations especially in outer districts; neighborhood officers and community policing; independent police complaints office and police commissioner
ÖDP Berlin: Proper staffing and equipment for police, fire services, and the judiciary, “equal legal certainty for all Kieze,” Kontaktbeamte and bicycle units on the streets

Video surveillance and biometrics

CDU: expand intelligent video surveillance at crime hotspots and on public transport
SPD: Not addressed
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: against indiscriminate mass surveillance and biometric facial recognition, against data retention (Vorratsdatenspeicherung); extend data-protection powers to law-enforcement agencies as well
Die Linke: against linking police databases with video surveillance and checks without suspicion — this is a “gateway” to racial profiling and discriminatory police action; review the necessity of data retention and access rights to government databases, and give the data-protection commissioner more resources
AfD: comprehensive video surveillance of all “hot spots,” plus cameras at illegal-dumping hot spots; at the same time, data protection and privacy are declared “non-negotiable”
FDP: temporary video surveillance and Security by Design (lighting, open sightlines, no dark corners), but the costs and benefits of indiscriminate video surveillance must be assessed and it should be dismantled if necessary; delete the “Szenekunde Sport” database
BSW: video surveillance only where high crime has been demonstrated — with parliamentary authorization and enough staff to analyze recordings in real time; 96-hour retention period for BVG and DB cameras
Volt: supports bodycams in Berlin (transparency, de-escalation), with mandatory activation and full equipment for all officers involved
Tierschutzpartei: rejects video surveillance in public space and data retention (Vorratsdatenspeicherung), excludes automatic facial recognition, and permits biometrics only in narrow exceptions by court order; Quick-Freeze procedure instead of data retention, strict regulation of drones, and exclusion of Social Scoring and AI-based behavioral analysis
ÖDP Berlin: Not addressed

Checks without suspicion and controversial powers

CDU: allow suspicionless identity checks in public spaces
SPD: limit suspicionless checks to a necessary minimum; violence-prevention law (Gewaltpräventionsgesetz); strengthen the independent police and citizens commissioner
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: reject suspicionless checks and introduce a digital stop-and-search receipt; review high-crime designation zones and weapon-ban zones and abolish them where needed
Die Linke: abolish suspicionless checks: they disproportionately affect young people perceived as having a migrant background; end corresponding police powers
AfD: more police checks without suspicion in problem neighborhoods and expanded checks without suspicion in high-crime locations; nighttime curfew for underage high-intensity offenders (Intensivtäter), absolute ban on face coverings at assemblies; ✗ knife-ban zones are “purely symbolic politics”
FDP: special powers to establish identity and search without suspicion remain, but the criteria for classifying a place as “crime-burdened” should be clarified in the ASOG
BSW: Not addressed
Volt: no direct position on checks without suspicion; emphasis on prevention, exit programs, and safe public space through lighting and greenery, plus body cameras as a de-escalation tool
Tierschutzpartei: end checks without suspicion: police measures must be justified, proportionate, and reviewable; eliminate discriminatory disparities in police practice and ban pain-compliance techniques
ÖDP Berlin: Not addressed

Organized crime and money

CDU: strengthen asset seizure against organized crime and clans; anonymous tip line for drugs/OK; beef up IT forensics and specialized units against digital drug crime (e.g. SkyECC); involve the domestic intelligence (Verfassungsschutz); tougher tax/financial crime enforcement
SPD: Special structures against mafia organizations, extortion, and forced prostitution; confiscation of criminal proceeds
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Give priority to structural investigations and the “follow the money” approach, link the LKA and public prosecutors, combat money laundering and tax loopholes
Die Linke: a single financial-crime authority built on three pillars — police, customs, and tax investigation — under one roof and with shared IT (money laundering, illegal employment, schemes such as Cum-Ex); special units in the LKA and specialized public-prosecution departments, including against digital violence and deepfakes
AfD: Berlin is called the “capital of organized crime” (66 investigation complexes, 485 suspects in 2023), while organized and clan crime are described as “predominantly imported”: the response is a consistent “remigration policy” and deportation of criminal foreigners, a special unit in the immigration authority, and security and crime-fighting in prisons
FDP: Combat clan structures and provide prevention so teenagers have alternatives to entering them; merge the Berlin and Brandenburg services for the protection of the constitution
BSW: Not addressed
Volt: develop BKA “Radar”-style decision support in Berlin; tackle whole criminal networks with European/international partners; stop OK hiding behind concealed assets; push federal reverse burden of proof; expand capacity against financial crime
Tierschutzpartei: Pursue organized crime resolutely, but “without placing entire population groups under blanket suspicion”: origin and family affiliation cannot be grounds for state action; emphasis on dismantling illegal financial and property structures, use a real-estate and assets register against money laundering, plus education, integration, and exit programs
ÖDP Berlin: Not addressed

Oversight, prevention, support for victims

CDU: victim protection via Istanbul Convention state action plan, more women’s shelter places (incl. a 10th women’s shelter), electronic ankle monitors for high-risk offenders; equip social workers
SPD: Independent police commissioner, violence-prevention law, femicide risk assessments
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: state victim-protection act with a right to support; Berlin’s periodic security report on offences and their causes
Die Linke: shift funds from police symbolic politics to social work and crisis services; abolish crime hotspots and weapons-ban zones as gateways for racial profiling; “School against the Right”; no Bundeswehr recruitment in schools; stop police armament and redistribute funds
AfD: Mandatory reporting procedure and police involvement in violence against teachers, violence prevention in school lessons, “general prevention”; outpatient support for families through Familienpflege, Familienrat, and family counseling
FDP: Delete the the “scene-intelligence sports database” scene-intelligence database database and assess indiscriminate surveillance; prevention before repression, swift courts, and no procedural delays
BSW: Against domestic violence — the Spanish model (electronic ankle monitor when a restraining order is imposed and a victim notification system) by court order, expansion of the women’s-shelter network and multilingual guidance on assistance; multiprofessional teams in schools
Volt: State strategy for queer safety and a concept against far-right extremism, racism, and antisemitism; regional centers for victims of extremist, racist, and anti-queer violence — psychologists, legal assistance, emergency help; electronic ankle monitors for perpetrators of domestic violence and at least 330 additional places in women’s shelters to fully put in place the Istanbul Convention; digital sexualized violence as a separate form of violence; the Barnahus model for children and British MARAC
Tierschutzpartei: Women’s shelters meeting the Istanbul Convention standard (2,5 places per 10 000 residents — not met in Berlin), training for police, the judiciary, and public authorities on Hate Speech, stalking, and femicide, low-threshold online counseling; expand victim–offender mediation (Täter-Opfer-Ausgleich); school social work in every school as prevention
ÖDP Berlin: Substantially expand prevention in social services and healthcare; adequate staffing with educators, social workers, and psychologists in schools as early prevention

Education

Kitas — access and quality

CDU: Kita-Chancenjahr — effectively the return of a preparatory year, family portal with automatic applications
SPD: Automatic daycare voucher at the first birthday; better child-to-staff ratio and higher share of qualified staff (only staff actually present count); expand language support (heritage-language surcharge, mandatory language-level checks, language daycares); strengthen integration daycares, daycare social work, and municipal providers; mandatory final daycare year citywide
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Daycare voucher automatically by the first birthday — with a multilingual letter and QR code for counseling; daycare as a place for learning and free play, not merely supervision; improve the child-to-staff ratio and expand language education
Die Linke: fee-free education from Kita to university; focus on Kita quality, staffing and child protection; expand free after-school care (eFöB/Hort) and free meals further up the grades
AfD: Maintain and expand places according to need, improve the child-to-staff ratio, extend opening hours for parents with special schedules, “blue-light” daycare for police, fire and emergency services, support small and medium providers and workplace daycares; German as the mandatory language in daycare
FDP: Issue the voucher automatically together with the birth certificate, language diagnostics in Kita, more independently operated Kitas with the same funding as municipal ones; remove administrative barriers to expanding places and broaden preschool preparation in Kita during the year before school
BSW: Mandatory Kita attendance from age four at the latest; regular language diagnostics from age three; neighborhood mothers (Stadtteilmütter) and integration guides to involve parents; restore a binding preschool phase for language, numbers, and social learning
Volt: Mandatory quality standards: enshrine ratios of 1:3 in nursery groups and 1:7,5 in Kita in law, expand workforce training, organize career changes, and accelerate recognition of foreign diplomas; multiprofessional teams in Kitas and a Berlin Kita-Rat comprising science, practice, and providers (Träger); language support where families already are — in Kita, not through a separate appointment; mandatory and supported transition to school
Tierschutzpartei: Right to a full-day place for every child from age one regardless of parents’ employment; make Kita-Navigator an up-to-date and reliable placement tool; expand language support — the 40% non-German-origin benchmark does not reflect actual need; relieve educators of admin work and fund admin staff even for small Kitas; strengthen multilingual offerings in bilingual Kitas
ÖDP Berlin: “Quality over quantity” and evaluation of educational quality in daycares; parenting wage for parents as genuine freedom of choice; targeted support for bilingual children by trained staff

Language and prep for first grade

CDU: “No one starts school without fluent German,” emphasis on German and mathematics in primary school
SPD: Mandatory language-proficiency checks before school
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Support family languages: record languages and offer first-language lessons, expand the Europa-Schule network, separate support for refugee children
Die Linke: expand State Europe Schools especially in the east; examine creating German-Arabic or German-Kurdish school branches; expand heritage-language teaching; add Arabic and Kurdish as foreign languages
AfD: Enshrine German as the language of school in the school law, ban gender-inclusive language, bring back handwritten cursive; mandatory language-proficiency checks starting in Kita and expansion of “German guarantee classes” in primary schools with a high share of children whose home language is not German
FDP: Language diagnostics already in Kita, funding for language support according to actual need
BSW: no separate measures on school language: emphasis on “reading, writing and arithmetic” as the core of primary school; mandatory integration measures and language learning for adult migrants
Volt: Mandatory preschool phase from age five — about one-third of children have language deficits; language tests at age four with support from qualified language teachers; joint support planning by Kita and primary school with regular exchange; France’s mandatory Vorschule from age three as a reference
Tierschutzpartei: at school entry: evidence-based language assessment plus binding low-threshold support; interpreters for parent talks
ÖDP Berlin: “Integration means removing language barriers”: early educational opportunities for bilingual children and support for both languages by trained staff in parent-child groups and Kitas

School structure and standards

CDU: More German and mathematics, school sports with an “achievement ethos”
SPD: All types of school-leaving qualification at every school, mandatory 11th year, full inclusion
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Individual support without pressure; double the number of comprehensive schools; a perspectives year for young people without a school-leaving qualification or apprenticeship place (more than 8% leave without a qualification); democratize schools by funding student councils; keep family centers at primary schools
Die Linke: More comprehensive schools, abolish student selection (“casting”), oppose school segregation
AfD: Restore “discipline and the will to achieve”: behavior grades, discipline agreements, “time-out rooms” for disruptive students, German flag at every school; entrance tests for Gymnasium and the option to transfer students back out of Gymnasium
FDP: More school self-governance and staffing autonomy; dual teacher-education degrees; use vacant and underused premises (e.g. at upper secondary centers) before converting schools to another type; cut school bureaucracy
BSW: End the teacher shortage, high-quality comprehensive schools, curriculum reform; “the best opportunities regardless of parents’ wallets”
Volt: A school that “supports and challenges”: easier movement between school types, transparent criteria and better counseling for students and parents, more schools with their own upper-secondary level or reliable cooperation, develop existing school types instead of dismantling the system; support gifted students — MINT programs, competitions, and school academies; multiprofessional teams in schools
Tierschutzpartei: Reform the school system: less early sorting, more Gemeinschaftsschule years, allot some places by lottery for social mixing, and ease school-type changes in the transition; renovate dilapidated buildings — new build only where modernization is not enough (acoustics, light, air); schools as places of lived democracy, with an Antragsrecht for students in school-wide bodies
ÖDP Berlin: “Heart and mind” as the school’s central task; free learning materials without copy fees; lessons for all the senses — music, media literacy, cooking, crafts, theater, school garden

School staff, social work, screens

CDU: equip every school with sufficient qualified social pedagogues — not literally one person per school
SPD: A social worker in every school, recording teachers’ working time, ban on mobile phones in all primary schools
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: More school social workers and multiprofessional teams without cutting teacher numbers; paid Teamzeiten for collaboration; keep Familienzentren at primary schools
Die Linke: Restore 470 cut positions; special education fund (off-budget investment package)
AfD: In the teacher-training law, shift emphasis from “Diversity,” “Queer,” and “Gender” topics to didactics and practical work; give priority to moving fee-based teachers into permanent positions without unjustified fixed-term contracts
FDP: Abolish civil-servant status for teachers (Verbeamtung); relieve teachers and school leadership of administrative work; provide an IT specialist for each school or school cluster
BSW: Remove smartphones and tablets from primary-school classrooms; multiprofessional teams of teachers, educators, social workers, psychologists, and specialists in IT, prevention, and administration
Volt: Multiprofessional teams and recruitment of men into social and psychological professions as role models; tackle staff shortages by expanding training, organizing career changes, and rapidly recognizing foreign diplomas
Tierschutzpartei: School social work in every school with permanent rather than annually reviewed funding; deep expansion of SIBUZ and school psychology; tackle teacher shortages via continued civil-servant status (Verbeamtung), less bureaucracy, multiprofessional teams, dual teacher training, and mentoring for career changers; fair pay and fewer fixed-term contracts in social professions
ÖDP Berlin: Against early and excessive digital learning in primary school — children need motor and sensory experience and teamwork with real people; adequate staffing with educators, social workers, and psychologists; recruit teachers by cutting bureaucracy in recognizing foreign diplomas and offering a relocation allowance

Shortage of skilled workers

CDU: Recognize foreign diplomas faster and recruit more workers into skilled trades, care, education, police, fire services, and municipal companies; promote master crafts training with a master-crafts training bonus, because without good craftspeople the city does not run
SPD: recruit international skilled workers (especially care); speed recognition of foreign degrees; skilled-workers strategy and stronger school-to-work links
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: recruit international skilled workers with Welcome Center support, faster transparent recognition of foreign degrees, and fair coordinated recruitment abroad
Die Linke: Staff shortages across sectors, worsened by lack of affordable housing; train and retain more skilled workers in Berlin instead of only poaching from elsewhere; faster recognition of foreign qualifications
AfD: fight skills shortage mainly via dual training, further training and retraining for people already here; reject the apprenticeship levy; medical places in Berlin instead of recruiting abroad; restrictive migration overall
FDP: Fight staff shortages in education (daycares and schools): better child-to-staff ratio, relieve teachers and leadership of bureaucracy, dual teacher-education degrees, IT specialists for schools; immigration of people ready to work when skills are scarce
BSW: End the teacher shortage; multiprofessional teams in schools; easier recognition of foreign school and vocational qualifications; Ausbildungsoffensive at home; skilled immigration only where it does not create shortages in origin countries
Volt: Staff shortages are holding back the economy; modernize the immigration authority (LEA) with fully digital applications and stronger specialist units; speed recognition of foreign diplomas via digital interfaces; build a real Welcome Center; Denmark’s SIRI as a model for a central digital contact point
Tierschutzpartei: address shortages of teachers, educators, and social-care professionals through workforce policy, collective-agreement linkage, fewer fixed-term contracts, and more training places; no separate measure on recruitment from abroad in the fragments found
ÖDP Berlin: Recruit more teachers by cutting bureaucracy in recognizing foreign diplomas and offering a relocation allowance; constant teacher shortage noted alongside the need for adequate school staffing

Vocational education and dual training

CDU: Treat vocational and academic education as equal; make Meister, Techniker and Fachwirt training free of charge; a “Tag des Handwerks” at secondary schools; faster recognition of foreign vocational qualifications
SPD: Strengthen dual training with an apprentice hub for housing and support, keep the apprentice ticket, implement the apprenticeship levy; develop the youth careers agency and youth career support; improve the 11th compulsory school year and the integrated vocational training year for the school-to-work transition
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Flexible perspectives year instead of a rigid 11th compulsory school year; stronger career guidance and at least five workplace insights in grades 8–10; dual training as equal to university via a levy-funded training guarantee and an apprentice hub
Die Linke: Strengthen training partnerships especially in craft trades; apprenticeship levy to relieve training firms; support young people leaving school without an apprenticeship place; better school-to-training transition and an apprentice hub
AfD: Strengthen in-company dual training and reject the apprenticeship levy; raise master-craftsman BAföG, master start-up bonus, Dutch-style further-training fund; stronger school–chamber cooperation and career guidance
FDP: Schools should prepare for vocational training or university; dual teacher education, more school autonomy and focus on German, maths and practical skills
BSW: Expand career-oriented school internships (Schülerpraktika) to three two-week block placements so young people see craft trades and choose apprenticeships more consciously; credit practicum performance on school reports
Volt: Strengthen dual training as equal to university; central overview of open apprenticeship places; Berliner Azubiwerk for affordable housing; Ausbildungsplatzgarantie modeled on Vienna’s guarantee
Tierschutzpartei: Treat apprenticeship and university as equal paths; Ausbildungsgarantie and minimum trainee pay; at least three one-week Praktika in lower secondary plus structured support into training, study, or voluntary service
ÖDP Berlin: School lessons for all the senses with more weight on practical life subjects — crafts (Werken), cooking, theater, school garden — as hands-on preparation alongside academic learning

Higher education

CDU: Berlin as a center for science and innovation: medicine, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, startups; universities and research centers as part of the economic strategy
SPD: “medical capital,” a strong Charité, science and future industries — artificial intelligence, DeepTech, aerospace, railway technology, games, finance, and defense
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Restore reliable higher-education contracts with higher funding and planning security; strengthen the student services organization; keep Berlin attractive for students and researchers through fair conditions and university autonomy
Die Linke: Keep university study tuition-free including for international students; raise student-services funding; expand civil clauses (no military research); strengthen university teacher education with extra funding toward 3,000 teaching graduates a year
AfD: Defend academic freedom against cancel culture and ideology on campus; strengthen university autonomy; expand medical and pharmacy study places in Berlin rather than recruiting doctors from abroad
FDP: Universities as “beacons of excellence” competing for the best minds; Tenure-Tracks as standard; lock in freedoms via a Berliner university freedom law (Hochschulfreiheitsgesetz) and continued university contracts (Hochschulverträge)
BSW: raise state subsidies (Landeszuschüsse) toward ≥2% of GDP; Studentenwohnheim fund; Zivilklausel; end chain contracts; prioritize MINT
Volt: Reliable long-term basic funding for Berlin’s universities; more study places in MINT, teaching, and health; better study conditions (counseling, family-friendly research); transparent career paths including Tenure-Track
Tierschutzpartei: more training places in social professions, fewer fixed-term contracts, and equal pay; higher education should be accessible, socially equitable, and non-discriminatory
ÖDP Berlin: Better maintenance of education buildings for a pleasant learning atmosphere; promote student housing

Continuing education and retraining

CDU: Lifelong learning as a fourth pillar: strengthen adult education and free providers; a state program for basic skills (Grundbildung); more permanent contracts for adult education center teachers in basic skills and language; expand and coordinate non-formal education
SPD: Qualification offensive for digitalization, demographics, and climate transition; expand further-training and apprenticeship partnerships; accessible lifelong learning via adult-education centers and the second-chance pathway; make academic continuing education a public university task
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: workforce strategy, support transitions into occupations with labor shortages, family compatibility through workplace nurseries; the economy should be green, social, and innovative
Die Linke: continuing education as part of social and ecological transformation, collectively bargained jobs, and a strong public sector
AfD: prioritize qualifying people already in Berlin via continuing education (Weiterbildung); promote vocational degrees, targeted retraining and lifelong learning instead of migration-first skills policy
FDP: Expand continuing education at universities and in workplaces; a continuing-education law (Weiterbildungsgesetz) for a unified Berlin framework; more pathways out of low-wage work especially for women; age-appropriate lifelong-learning offers for older people
BSW: continuing education is mentioned mainly through labor and social policy
Volt: Berliner education pass (BildungsPass): annual continuing-education credit for everyone 25+ at accredited providers; make skills from work, volunteering, and self-study visible via digital credentials; expand part-time and digital formats; modular Teilqualifikationen toward recognized qualifications
Tierschutzpartei: Jobcenters should advise and train instead of imposing sanctions; more training places in social professions, permanent funding for social work, and fewer fixed-term contracts
ÖDP Berlin: recognize foreign qualifications faster, relocation allowance for skilled workers, cut bureaucracy; teach practical skills and support professionals for education, care, and the social sector

Health

Hospitals and neighborhood care

CDU: Charité as a center for innovation, neighborhood health hubs, e-health, gene and cell therapy, less bureaucracy for hospitals
SPD: “Medical capital,” a strong Charité, integrated health centers in the districts
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Top-level university medicine and neighborhood care are not mutually exclusive; equalize opportunities between districts (outlying and eastern areas without doctors), telemedicine and AI, a public health service, and district health conferences
Die Linke: expand municipal Charité and Vivantes; remunicipalize hospitals where private operators exit; speed municipal and non-profit outpatient centers / neighborhood basic care via a Vivantes taskforce
AfD: Hospitals threatened by insolvency and closures due to inadequate public funding and insurer payments — hurting buildings, technology and staff; raise investment cost subsidies to actual need; more study places for doctors and pharmacists instead of recruiting abroad (Charité cuts called a mistake)
FDP: “Outpatient before inpatient”; modernize emergency services and ease ER load via phone triage; best hospital care 24/7/365; reorder hospital financing around actual patient need and end the old outpatient/inpatient split; cybersecurity in health facilities; Berlin as a model region for telemedicine and health start-ups
BSW: hospitals are part of public infrastructure and “not businesses”: planning in the public interest with resident participation, care close to home and accessible by public transport, targeted support for clinics providing social support and linking outpatient with inpatient care, eliminate an investment backlog of several hundred million €
Volt: Expand the state program for integrated health centers (LIG), especially in outlying and structurally weak districts: “houses of care” with multiprofessional teams, midwives, and psychological support, with a health kiosk for older people at each center providing care counseling and therapy; long opening hours relieve emergency departments; multilingual health guides; street triage instead of police during mental-health crises; Senior-Berlin app, recognition of ME/CFS and Long-COVID
Tierschutzpartei: Strengthen Rettungsdienst and primary care along the whole chain; nutrition team and plant-based hospital meals (also against antibiotic-resistant infections); free, low-bureaucracy medical care for homeless people via mobile teams
ÖDP Berlin: No pursuit of profit in healthcare and care, with money going toward better staff pay; support the establishment of pediatric practices in underserved districts

Mental health

CDU: Statewide Mental Health program and more school psychology for pupils, teachers and families; prevention on movement, nutrition and mental health embedded in everyday school life; citywide drop-in points for young people in crisis; align psychotherapy capacity with real need to cut waiting times
SPD: Develop a Masterplan for mental health to reorganize support, shorten waiting times and create integrated offers; push KV and federal reforms of needs planning; more therapy places and trained staff; expand contact and counseling centers
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Destigmatization, prevention, and early detection, multiprofessional crisis and outreach services in every district, plus dedicated psychological support for refugees
Die Linke: Create Berlin’s share of missing psychotherapy statutory health-insurance therapy slots (Kassensitze); oversight of cost reimbursement (Kostenerstattung); outreach therapy for older and immobile people; more clinic places and pay for therapists in training; expand supported housing and psychiatric case work
AfD: Not addressed
FDP: Not addressed
BSW: Loneliness as a political task: neighborhood centers, community projects, and measures against isolation (affecting older and younger people and homeless people); separate shelters for people with addictions because homelessness intensifies mental strain
Volt: Mental Health in the curriculum, meeting places against loneliness — multigenerational cafés and neighborhood centers, free materials on postnatal depression, intensive support for single parents; mobile Street Triage teams made up of police and the Berliner Krisendienst instead of police alone during mental-health crises
Tierschutzpartei: Low-threshold psychosocial care regardless of income, origin or residence status; more school psychologists, social workers and therapists in schools and Kitas; mandatory free prevention on stress, bullying, anxiety and depression; raise psychotherapy statutory health-insurance therapy slots (Kassensitze); loneliness strategy with an Einsamkeitsbeauftragte*r
ÖDP Berlin: Not addressed

Care and older people

CDU: “Outpatient before inpatient” — stay in familiar surroundings as long as possible; expand care support centers; free training for volunteer caregivers; telemedicine and video consultations; neighborhood health hubs for older and mobility-impaired people; a clear central overview of doctors, midwives and care places
SPD: Support for home care, a cap on out-of-pocket co-payments, collectively bargained pay in care
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Chapters “Good care” and “Self-determined seniors”: live self-determined and in dignity at every age; a city enabling participation, solidarity and care; gradually make Berlin an age-friendly city
Die Linke: Berlinovo builds its own Pflegewohnen segment; Bundesrat drive to ban Eigenbedarf terminations and forced evictions of seniors; Stadtteilsorgezentren with offers for seniors and family caregivers including low-cost neighborhood canteens/cafés, adequate staffing and short distances
AfD: Older Berliners face digital exclusion, bureaucracy and a lack of accessible affordable housing; pensions often too low after broken careers and family care/child-raising; demand age-appropriate housing, keep analog access to authorities, and fight loneliness through participation and volunteering
FDP: Strengthen ambulatory care so people can stay in their familiar environment; digital marketplace for care and support offers; strengthen district seniors’ representation legally and financially while abolishing the State Seniors’ Advisory Council; self-employed statutory health and care-insurance contributions based only on earned self-employment income
BSW: Pensions tax-free up to 2 000 €; care and hospitals in public or nonprofit ownership, review the treatment of care homes during the pandemic, “think together” about Kitas, primary schools, and homes for older people
Volt: Support family caregivers with digital platforms (chatbot for applications, community) and faster digital applications via the state competence center 4.0; digital guides helping older people; a health kiosk for seniors at every health center; Senior-Berlin app; ageing in place — remain in familiar surroundings
Tierschutzpartei: Education and social participation for older people, digital support, fall prevention and anti-loneliness projects; pets allowed in seniors’ and care facilities; humane, common-good care with binding staffing ratios; loneliness strategy with an Einsamkeitsbeauftragte*r
ÖDP Berlin: No profit motive in elder care and funding for better pay; more age-appropriate and affordable housing

Drug policy

CDU: Fight drug crime hard: smash clan and drug networks; anonymous electronic tip-off system for drug trafficking and organized crime; more prison cell searches with drug- and data-carrier dogs; expand specialized units such as observation teams against organized and digitally networked drug crime
SPD: “Help instead of punishment”: expand Drug-Checking and therapy; abolish “accompanied drinking” under 16; do not push people with addictions from place to place — help where they are while clearing drugs from parks and playgrounds; expand drug consumption rooms (easier setup, longer hours, municipal buildings)
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: “Help instead of punishment”: more supervised drug-consumption rooms and street outreach, shorter waits for therapy, without an abstinence requirement; stricter rules for gambling advertising and expansion of the “Oasis” self-exclusion database
Die Linke: Fundamentally different drug policy: do not criminalize use or stigmatize users; continue expanding supervised consumption rooms and inhalation rooms for crack on the Swiss model; end strict pursuit of micro-dealing; expand drug-checking (also mobile and in consumption rooms); more outpatient therapy and psychosocial support
AfD: Not addressed
FDP: Evidence-based “help instead of punishment”: expand drug-checking significantly (also mobile) with a citywide early-warning system; naloxone via recognized addiction help and social work; expand supervised consumption rooms and street-outreach teams; night cafés and consumption rooms in the Kurfürstenkiez; Housing First for homeless users
BSW: expand prevention and assistance — protected drug consumption rooms, medical support centers, and support for substitution therapy
Volt: assistance instead of criminalization: free mobile drug-checking at clubs (Fixpunkt and Vista laboratories), more supervised consumption rooms with reliable opening hours, expand diamorphine substitution and access to long-term psychotherapy; discontinue cases for possession of small quantities for personal use, raise thresholds through an evidence-based procedure involving addiction medicine and law enforcement; straightforward implementation of the cannabis law and digital applications for grow associations
Tierschutzpartei: prevention instead of repression: addiction is primarily a health and social issue, so provide addiction support, counseling, therapy, and exit programs throughout the city and decriminalize people who use drugs; act firmly against organized, profit-oriented drug trafficking, but without stigmatizing socially vulnerable people
ÖDP Berlin: Prevention focus: Berlin as a model for non-smoker protection and addiction prevention; ban alcohol advertising in public space and media; remove tobacco and alcohol from checkout areas; extend stricter smoking-venue rules to shisha bars

Migration

Admission and deportations

CDU: dedicated chapter to organize, manage and limit migration; affirm the right to asylum while keeping state control over migration
SPD: Defend the right to asylum and implement GEAS in line with human rights; push the federal level to allow state admission programs; integration pathways also for people without protection status or with expiring permits; prioritize returns for serious offenders and security threats without stay rights; early return assistance focused on voluntary return
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Berlin as a “safe harbor”: resume the state admission program for Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan; fund civilian sea rescue; apply GEAS in line with human rights; deportations only in exceptional cases — not to crisis regions such as Afghanistan, Syria or Iran
Die Linke: “Every deportation is one deportation too many”; cut-off-date regularization and expanded opportunity-to-stay rights; reject detention, movement restrictions and family separation; state admission programs (e.g. Syria, Afghanistan, Gaza); use temporary deportation stops
AfD: Immediate stop to accepting asylum seekers in Berlin and end voluntary admission of people brought in illegally; convert LEA into an “authority for immigration, asylum and remigration” with priority on returns; Dublin departure center; full cost transparency for asylum policy
FDP: Increase deportations of people with an enforceable obligation to leave; review Duldung grounds more often; reject a de facto winter deportation freeze; asset checks for asylum seekers (e.g. jewelry, deposits, cash above an allowance) to cover procedure and living costs
BSW: “Control and limitation without discrimination and racism”; support running all asylum procedures in safe third countries outside the EU — those without a claim to asylum should not enter the EU, which would also remove deportation problems; border controls and refusals at the border until an EU-wide returns deal exists
Volt: Not addressed
Tierschutzpartei: deportations are not a topic in the program: assistance should not be blocked by bureaucracy, language, or residence status; refugees without secure status should receive WBS, standards in ASOG shelters reviewed by an independent body
ÖDP Berlin: Not addressed

Payment card and access to benefits and healthcare

CDU: Keep the payment card for asylum benefits and make it permanent; centrally record residence data of people obliged to leave and share it quickly with the competent authorities
SPD: reject the payment card for asylum benefits; pursue a Berlin City-ID for access to health, housing, work and education
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Abolish the discriminatory payment card; health and social-security rights also without the “right papers”; access to education, healthcare and work regardless of residence status; basic bank account for all
Die Linke: Against the payment card; full standard benefit rate for single refugees in collective housing; social assistance for non-employed EU citizens; equal subsistence benefits and access to work, education and healthcare regardless of status
AfD: Switch asylum benefits to benefits in kind only; limit supply, counseling and housing to the necessary minimum; cut Berlin top-up benefits; full cost transparency of asylum policy
FDP: Berlin, “as the last of the states,” immediately introduces the payment card — both for new arrivals and for those already here
BSW: people entering via a safe third country should have no right to an asylum procedure or social benefits
Volt: uniform minimum standards for all Berlin shelters; access to advice and flexible programs regardless of residence status
Tierschutzpartei: Reject switching asylum seekers to benefits in kind only
ÖDP Berlin: Not addressed

LEA, integration, participation

CDU: State integration centers in every district (language, advice, support in one place); “support and demand” with active participation in language and integration offers required; community work under §5 AsylbLG; faster recognition of foreign qualifications and action against unscrupulous intermediaries; closer cooperation of LEA, refugee authorities, social offices and police to enforce obligations to leave
SPD: Professionalize and permanently fund Integrationslots*innen (expanded language groups); central integration and participation monitoring with semi-annual indicators; Berliner city card (CityID) so undocumented people can access health, housing, work and education
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Develop LEA into a modern “welcome authority” for ~700,000 Berliners without German or EU citizenship — digital applications, faster processing, stronger ombuds office; strengthen “housing instead of mass shelters” with municipal landlords and shift from mass shelters to decentralized housing
Die Linke: Strengthen LAF staffing and organization; local voting rights for non-citizens after five years; develop the participation law (Partizipationsgesetz) with a binding hiring quota for people with a migration history in the public service
AfD: no language or integration courses for asylum seekers without a right to stay; transform LEA into an “authority for entry, asylum, and remigration”
FDP: Language and integration courses from day one, mandatory teaching of the foundations of the free democratic basic order, respect for equality, different ways of life, and religious diversity
BSW: Broaden integration courses in content — all aspects of living together, rights and obligations “clearly and mandatorily”; require lawful asylum seekers to participate in integration measures and learn the language
Volt: Integrated cross-department structure with dedicated posts in LEA and LAF; Welcome Center and integration guides (one-stop); digital LEA–chamber–employer interfaces; “Work Integration Pass” as a European-standard digital skills proof; apprenticeship guarantee on the Vienna model
Tierschutzpartei: Language courses regardless of residence status; binding public-service quota for people with a migration history and experience of racism; commissioners for people with a migration history with rights like women’s representatives; Berlin recognition center for foreign qualifications with multilingual advice; no exclusion from the housing market because of flight experience or residence title
ÖDP Berlin: Recognize foreign qualifications faster by cutting bureaucracy, relocation allowance for skilled workers, early language support for bilingual children

Economy

Economy and innovation

CDU: Mid-sized businesses as the backbone with transformation support; keep Berlin an industrial and startup/digital hub; EXPO 2035 bid with Brandenburg as a future region for innovation
SPD: Three pillars of industrial policy — mobility, energy technology, pharmaceuticals and medical technology, plus future industries: aerospace, AI and DeepTech, railway technology, games, finance, defense; “medical capital” and science, support for startups (especially those founded by women), Reallaborstrategie, visibility for migrant entrepreneurship
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: A green, social, and innovative economy: games capital, workforce strategy, Betriebskitas, equal-pay reporting
Die Linke: Future-proof Berlin industry and raise industry’s share of value added with collectively bargained jobs; in procurement prioritize Economy for the Common Good firms and companies working with Open Source / digital sovereignty
AfD: a central Station-F-style hub for Berlin’s startup ecosystem and research transfer into entrepreneurship; ease unnecessary burdens on SMEs from the switch to fully digital invoicing by 2028
FDP: “Less government, more freedom”; core spending on education, infrastructure, and security; bureaucracy-reduction law, “Frei-Kiez” special economic zone, innovation policy and mandatory Berlin–Brandenburg structures, review of the “uncontrolled proliferation” of municipal companies
BSW: Minimum wage of 15 € per hour through a Bundesrat initiative; preserve Berlin as an industrial location and protect jobs, criticism of high energy prices and bureaucracy; framework conditions and access to venture capital for startups, but criticism of converting Berlin companies and the games industry to defense; abolish fixed-term contracts without objective grounds in the public sector and ensure full application of collective agreements
Volt: startup capital: central startup hub (Gründungshub) for the Berlin-Brandenburg metro region; KiezLabs (neighborhood labs) in vacant buildings as local innovation hubs; test fields for hydrogen/bidirectional charging (Tegel) and Agri-PV on Tempelhofer Feld
Tierschutzpartei: eco-social economy for the common good: raise the Land minimum wage to at least €16 with annual inflation indexation; promote mobile work and a four-day week; turn Jobcenters into advice/training places instead of sanctioning; build innovation clusters for circular economy, plant-based food and sustainable mobility; advance open source, AI and quantum tech when they serve the common good
ÖDP Berlin: Prepare for a post-growth / Economy for the Common Good: Berlin as a city of the Economy for the Common Good with progressive prosperity indicators; tax benefits (e.g. trade-tax multiplier cut by half) for firms with a Common Good Balance Sheet; support regional small businesses and women founders

Innovation and startups

CDU: Berlin as startup capital and digital hub (“Boston on the Spree” for health/biotech); intensify mid-sized businesses–startup–science links; EXPO 2035; bureaucracy “One in – two out”; KI assistant BärGPT for routine city work
SPD: strengthen future industries (life sciences/health, AI and DeepTech, games, finance, aerospace, rail tech, etc.); continue the Reallabor strategy with funding and a “Made in Berlin” focus; expand support for women founders and access to risk capital
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: strong innovation ecosystem linking science, business and industrial value creation; a Berlin innovation freedom law (Innovationsfreiheitsgesetz) for real labs, experiment clauses and faster procedures; innovation through international diversity
Die Linke: restore the coaching bonus for founders and improve access to credit—for Deep-Tech startups as well as local shops; innovation via public benefit, Open Source and digital sovereignty in procurement (see economy)
AfD: central Station-F-style location for Berlin’s startup ecosystem to strengthen innovation culture and transfer research into entrepreneurship
FDP: strong focus on innovation and business freedom: less bureaucracy, “Frei-Kiez” special economic zone, private investment, startups, artificial intelligence, and joint economic planning with Brandenburg
BSW: support startups through access to venture capital and framework conditions, but criticize reorienting the economy and games industry toward defense; main focus on collectively bargained jobs, industry, and less bureaucracy
Volt: central startup hub (Gründungshub) for Berlin-Brandenburg founders; KiezLabs (neighborhood labs) where local crafts, founders and freelancers grow together; chamber-defined minimum standards for AI/digitalization tools for SMEs
Tierschutzpartei: eco-social innovation for the common good: clusters for circular economy, plant-based food and sustainable mobility; promote open source; publicly fund AI and quantum technologies when they serve sustainability and the common good
ÖDP Berlin: Innovation via the Economy for the Common Good and regional small business: tax benefits for firms with a GWÖ Common Good Balance Sheet; programs for women founders; enforce rules against bogus self-employment

Business succession

CDU: secure business succession with the business-succession center and new networking for generational change in Berlin companies
SPD: secure and strengthen the Berlin business-succession center for business succession; bridge to founders and simplify access to innovation and investment funding
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: strengthen business succession in craft trades: fee-free and flexible master crafts training, support succession and new starts together with the chambers
Die Linke: secure business succession especially in craft trades with the Chamber of Crafts; protect against rising commercial rents; strengthen training partnerships
AfD: promote and simplify business takeovers / succession; master start-up bonus and stronger dual vocational training for crafts
FDP: Not addressed
BSW: Not addressed
Volt: strengthen Berlin’s business-succession center as a one-stop shop for sellers and successors
Tierschutzpartei: Not addressed
ÖDP Berlin: Not addressed

Small business

CDU: Support for the mid-sized businesses and crafts: tailored funding for the transition, succession via the business-succession center, fully digital business registration aiming at founding within 24 hours, and less bureaucracy for SMEs
SPD: Digital “guides” in district economic-development offices, more visibility for migrant entrepreneurship, three further municipal commercial courtyards, a secured business-succession center, and stronger neighborhood retail diversity
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Small business as part of an ecological and social economy: a workforce strategy, compatibility of family and work through company childcare centers, equal pay, and climate transformation without job losses
Die Linke: Fewer formalities for companies through positive lists and certificates; municipal procurement should support open source, digital sovereignty, fair working conditions, and the public good
AfD: Exempt small businesses from mandatory E-invoicing; strengthen crafts as the backbone of the mid-sized businesses with a master start-up bonus and easier business takeovers
FDP: Strong emphasis on freedom for business: a law to reduce bureaucracy, less government, private investment, a special economic zone called “Free District,” and a review of which municipal tasks could be performed more efficiently by private providers
BSW: Preserve the industrial site and jobs, reduce bureaucracy and energy prices; access to capital for startups, but with criticism of reorienting business toward defense
Volt: Strengthen the business-succession center as a one-stop shop for succession; turn vacant buildings into KiezLabs (neighborhood labs) for crafts, founders and freelancers; IBB loans with repayment grants of up to 40% for certified AI and digitalization solutions
Tierschutzpartei: No dedicated small-business program; eco-social economy focused on the common good and fair work — higher state minimum wage, mobile work, four-day week; public innovation funding only when it serves the common good and sustainability
ÖDP Berlin: Promote regional and small businesses and women founders; tax advantages (e.g. 50% lower trade-tax multiplier) for firms with a Common Good Balance Sheet; stronger enforcement against bogus self-employment

Taxes and budget

CDU: Partial real-estate transfer tax waiver on first owner-occupied purchase (up to €300k share / purchases ≤ €800k); introduce Grundsteuer C on build-ready vacant plots; crack down on transfer-tax avoidance — not a blanket rise in transfer tax
SPD: invest via budget, SIWA and the federal special fund; raise real-estate transfer tax by 0.5 pp (more for large firms; exceptions for owner-occupiers); packaging tax; priorities housing, transport, energy/heat, schools
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Raise and socially stagger real-estate transfer tax; disposable-packaging tax; fight tax evasion as organized crime; federal push for wealth and inheritance-tax reform
Die Linke: Luxury-villa tax and stricter audits of the wealthy; raise real-estate transfer tax to 8% (at least Brandenburg’s 6.5%) with room to differentiate; reform and abolish the debt brake; build a Kompetenzzentrum against financial crime including tax investigation
AfD: Restore the “debt brake”: halt debt growth, return to a rules-based budget, and enshrine the debt brake in Berlin’s constitution; borrowing only in exceptional situations
FDP: Comply with the “debt brake” without shadow budgets, limit the government share, and give priority to private investment; core spending: education, infrastructure, security; extend the rules to all off-budget funds
BSW: Pensions up to €2,000 tax-free and lower taxes and levies on normal earnings through Bundesrat initiatives; against increasing arms spending at the expense of the social budget, education, healthcare, and culture
Volt: Tie the budget firmly to the medium-term financial plan, justify deviations publicly, require counter-financing that names the offsets for spending increases, and publish updated budget figures so tax spending is traceable
Tierschutzpartei: Restore Vermögensteuer; make Grundsteuer and real-estate transfer tax progressive and end passing Grundsteuer on to tenants; keep and, if needed, raise the tourist tax; independent commission against cost overruns on major projects
ÖDP Berlin: Focus on the common good rather than growth: assess all new city investments by their potential to reduce CO2; tax advantages for companies with a Common Good Balance Sheet

Society & culture

Governance and administrative reform

CDU: Cut bureaucracy; a family portal with automatic applications; combine the management of state holdings and enterprises, professional supervisory boards, and a review of the institution of commissioners and the many councils
SPD: implement administrative reform with clear responsibilities, central steering and strong districts; digitalization of processes, digital agency and district digitalization guides
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Administrative reform to end “agency ping-pong”: clear division of responsibilities between the Berlin Senate (Senat) and districts, and the principle of connectivity in the city constitution
Die Linke: make administration more digital and efficient and bring the administrative reform to life; restore Berlinpass (low-income pass) applications via Bürgerämter (plus a digital proof option for Berlin-Ticket S)
AfD: abolish the bloated commissioner system (e.g. equality/anti-discrimination) as costly bureaucracy and clientelism; direct election of the Governing Mayor
FDP: comprehensive bureaucracy-relief law and systematic modernization of legislation with digital tools; AI appointment system for citizens’ offices (Bürgerämter) with real-time slot optimization; review which state-owned companies (Landesunternehmen) could deliver services more efficiently under other ownership
BSW: administration that works and reverse mistaken decisions of prior governments; use AI in places to streamline procedures; stronger staff-council co-determination and health programs in offices; full force of public-service collective agreements and end unfounded fixed-term contracts in the public sector
Volt: “Berlin works”: first decide who is responsible for what and measure administration by results—clear goals, indicators, binding service standards, and the “three yeses” principle (confirmation of application, deadline, decision); one-stop structures for residents and companies; an attractive civil service with fully digital HR processes and recruitment in 90 days rather than many months
Tierschutzpartei: appointment at any citizens’ office (Bürgeramt) within 14 days; repeal outdated/contradictory rules; clearer Berlin Senate (Senat)–district task split; public portal with municipal-enterprise data and free access to contracts from €100,000; mobile citizens’ office (Bürgeramt) units
ÖDP Berlin: E-government and priority improvements to equipment so the administration becomes faster and more efficient; full transparency of administrative actions and support for the “Berlin Transparency Act” initiative

Digitalization, data, AI

CDU: BärGPT, E-Health, digital applications for WBS and housing benefit
SPD: The rent-price check app and a rent and housing register; a renewed digital agency and “digitalization guides” in the districts, AI in building authorities, Governance Technology for public services, and AI and Open Data as a dedicated economic cluster
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: digitalization law (Digitalgesetz); “Public Money, Public Code”—contracts only for open source; Open Data, Berlin-App, a digital citizens’ office (Bürgeramt) with video consultations and real-time application status, and digital sovereignty instead of dependence on the US and China
Die Linke: prioritize Open Source and digital sovereignty in public procurement; strengthen the data-protection commissioner’s rights and resources and review admin database access for discrimination; strict rules against non-consensual sexualized deepfakes; stronger privacy oversight of police data holdings
AfD: Strategic digitalization for quality of life and to strengthen Berlin as a technology hub; data protection and privacy are “not negotiable”—against providers searching for “politically inconvenient” content; cooperation with private business and a federal digitalization strategy
FDP: AI for a freer, working city: digital office assistants and KI translation of authority texts into plain language; AI appointment booking with real-time slots and a digital waitlist; transparent, controllable AI in administration; Berlin as a model region for digital health (telemedicine, apps) with strong hospital cybersecurity
BSW: Digitalization as a “learning tool, not a substitute for education”: digital skills across all subjects, but with critical reflection and ethics; smartphones and tablets out of primary school; broader use of AI in the civil service
Volt: once-only data, interoperable systems and fully digital services; Public Money/Public Code for publicly funded software; pilot then roll out GovTech citywide; chamber-defined minimum standards so AI is usable and safe for small firms; open data as a base for new services; investigative software from European providers
Tierschutzpartei: prefer Open Source, fund ITDZ, Public Money/Public Code, and reuse proven solutions from other Länder; data centers feed waste heat into the heating network; continue fiber rollout and restore Free Wifi Berlin; AI in admin/police/justice only under human oversight, algorithmic transparency, no Social Scoring
ÖDP Berlin: use E-Governing and prioritize equipment; more Open Source in municipal IT for flexibility and less vendor lock-in; lower mobile-radio limit to 100 μW/m² and designate white zones for electrosensitive people

Social policy, poverty, income

CDU: The SOZIALES BERLIN platform as a single point of access to assistance
SPD: city-wide anti-poverty strategy; push collectively bargained pay toward ~80% coverage; cap care co-payments and fair pay in care
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Housing First, a protected housing-market segment and a municipal housing-search service, a fund for people with energy debt, and stronger social housing services
Die Linke: 20 neighborhood canteens (€10 million per year), heating-cost fund, and free education from Kita through university
AfD: Priority for long-term residents and “high contributors” in the allocation of municipal housing; home ownership as protection against poverty in old age; “poverty immigration” described as a burden on social systems; outpatient family support instead of expanding authorities
FDP: Subject-based rather than object-based support: people in need receive sufficient housing benefit to rent on the market; against poverty in old age through education, savings, and one’s own pension—“advancement through achievement, not complete state support”
BSW: A minimum wage of €15 per hour and pensions up to €2,000 tax-free; a dedicated section on “combating poverty”—one in four children lives in a household receiving basic benefits; the city again pays Mieterverein dues for social-benefit recipients
Volt: Routes out of structural unemployment: modular retraining and socially useful employment at the minimum wage where the market does not provide needed work; BuT-Pass for children from low-income families and “Berlin Gets Moving”; meeting places against loneliness—multigenerational cafés and neighborhood centers
Tierschutzpartei: Increase Regelbedarf, restore Berlin-Pass, and make social tickets non-discriminatory; test universal basic income; more staff in social-service authorities, citywide street social work with multiyear rather than project funding, and mobile Kiez teams; free menstrual hygiene products in schools, universities, and public authorities; accessibility and vegan meals in public institutions; a commissioner for combating loneliness
ÖDP Berlin: parenting wage independent of income; do not count child benefit against citizens’ benefit (Bürgergeld); no profit orientation in childcare and elderly care

Culture and clubs

CDU: A separate chapter, “Culture and media”: Jugendclubs as meeting places and spaces for democratic education with mandatory safeguarding concepts; a mandatory strategy for major cultural and sporting events and an Olympic bid; S-Bahn arches for culture and crafts; support against antisemitism in culture (OpenArtsHub); culture of remembrance and memorial work
SPD: For the first time, a support program for club venues (club-venue funding) and implementation of Berlin’s club strategy; against severe cuts to culture, reliable funding for district culture, libraries, music schools, galleries, and sociocultural venues; continued support for games plus new support for e-sports
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: A separate chapter on protecting Berlin’s club culture, “Berlin is culture,” independent media and press
Die Linke: protect club culture: commercial rent cap, venue funding and noise protection
AfD: A chapter on “Art, culture, media, and remembrance policy”: preserving “cultural heritage” is the first task; funding museums and archives takes priority over supporting cultural practitioners themselves; support “high culture” that cannot survive on the market; require culture funding (Kulturförderung) not to fund projects opposed to the free democratic order or conducive to antisemitism; more money from the federal Hauptstadtkulturfonds
FDP: A separate chapter, “In step with the times—strengthen club culture”: include club venues in urban planning and secure them long-term, apply the Agent of Change principle, create a single contact point for the club scene in districts and the Berlin Senate (Senat), simplify and speed up approvals, include clubs in the tourism strategy; a new building for the ZLB central library
BSW: A state Cultural Funding Act modeled on Lower Saxony, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt—binding cooperation structures, transparency, and predictability; reverse radical cuts to the culture budget; allocate all overnight-tax revenue to culture, as in Hamburg, Cologne, and Erfurt; a Kulturpass (culture pass) for teenagers from low-income families
Volt: Secure culture for the long term: reliable structural funding in the Land and all districts instead of short-term project money; a binding cultural development plan with civil-society participation; a strategy for EU funding and “guides” for districts; open vacant commercial space to culture without bureaucracy via a digital platform; recognize clubs as cultural venues and protect them through the Agent of Change principle (the party arriving later pays for sound insulation); support Open Airs, cultural education for all, culture of remembrance, and European exchange
Tierschutzpartei: Culture as a public good: long-term contractual core funding, including for small stages, clubs, and self-managed venues; put clubs on an equal legal footing with theaters and concert halls and protect them from displacement and strict noise rules; recognize music venues as serving the public good; restore free Museum Sunday; legalize Street Art and expand legal walls; open vacant municipal buildings to culture; ecological standards and vegan menus in cultural institutions; renovation instead of demolition; return unlawfully acquired cultural property
ÖDP Berlin: Culture in every district plus space for creative professionals and shared workshops; restore Museum Sunday (free admission to all museums on the first Sunday of the month); legal certainty for music schools and adult education centers following the 2022 court ruling; plan venues and youth culture with support for interim use

Sports and swimming

CDU: school sport with a performance focus; swimming skills; first floating football pitch (not stadium) in Rummelsburger Bucht with a feasibility study
SPD: invest in municipal pools: standardized swimming halls and climate-friendly renovation; free swimming for clubs, Kitas and schools; extend Landessportbund support agreement beyond 2029
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Sports for all: inclusive and climate-neutral infrastructure, accessibility, universal swimming instruction, and climate-neutral sporting events
Die Linke: Daily physical activity in all schools: renovation and construction of sports facilities plus training for physical-education teachers; swimming lessons for everyone within a reasonable timeframe, with the city reimbursing districts for “swimming buses” and free pool admission for children; All-Gender changing rooms and separate cubicles, digital and transparent allocation of sports facilities, and stronger district sports offices
AfD: Enshrine the right to transport to swimming lessons (“swimming bus”) in school law and move swimming from grade 3 to grade 2—“every child should learn to swim”; criticism of closed pools, long journeys, and waiting lists at swimming clubs; give greater attention to accessibility for people with disabilities when building and renovating sports facilities, and deliver an inclusive Jahn-Sportpark without cuts; strict rules against violence in amateur football and outdoor pools, an “achievement orientation,” and genuine Landesjugendspiele
FDP: A bid for the 2036 (or 2040) Olympic and Paralympic Games, modernizing existing facilities and building new ones only where necessary for sport; preserve the Olympic training-center sites and create “Sports City Berlin-Hohenschönhausen”; facility repairs by users with financial predictability and an emphasis on accessibility; nothing in the program about swimming lessons or pools
BSW: “Sports for all,” prioritizing grassroots sport over elite sport and mega-events: restore sports infrastructure (need: €410 million versus €24 million per year), support ordinary clubs where thousands of children are waiting for a place, without fees or commercialization; dedicated support for women’s and girls’ sport, older people’s sport, and integration projects; ✗ an Olympic bid at the expense of grassroots sport and “over the heads of the population”
Volt: Make better use of the city’s roughly 1,200 sports facilities: open schoolyards, halls, parks, and green spaces after classes, on weekends, and during holidays; transparent online booking for clubs and initiatives; at least one accessible, inclusive offering in each district (DIN 18040 standards, DOSB and DBS guidelines), protected hours for FLINTA groups; cheaper pool use, support for clubs working with migrants, more movement in Kita and schools; “Integration durch Sport” and the “Berlin Gets Moving” portal
Tierschutzpartei: Sport as a place for meeting and participation for everyone, regardless of gender, age, origin, or disability: accessibility in all districts and a goal of at least one fully inclusive sports facility per district; develop Jahn-Sportpark into an inclusive complex, including discussion of renaming; support programs such as “Sport im Park” and clubs opposing extremism; every child should learn to swim, with sufficient courses, pool capacity, and cooperation; free pool admission for children under 18 from single-parent families; ✗ Berlin Olympic bid; recognize E-Sport as serving the public good
ÖDP Berlin: Grassroots sport with district projects and swimming lessons for children and teenagers, expansion of sports facilities with an emphasis on inclusion, and barrier-free access to all public buildings and transport

Democracy

Democracy, participation, equality

CDU: Conversely, simplification: review and reduce the “confusing web” of participation structures, commissioners, and councils to improve administrative efficiency; a “digital twin” of the city as a participation platform with 3D visualization of projects; support children’s and youth parliaments; use video surveillance to highlight queerphobic crimes
SPD: Develop the “Mein Berlin” participation platform, hold local dialogues with Berlin Senate (Senat) members and early information meetings on construction projects, and preserve district citizen-participation offices; intersectional equality policy as a cross-cutting task in all laws and gender-responsive budgeting in the Land budget; a dedicated strategy against online hate, including antisemitism, racism, sexism, and queerphobia; queer-sensitive medicine
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Structural equality, protection from discrimination, queer safety, inclusion, East German perspectives, action against right-wing extremism, and “Berlin—a child-friendly city” with children’s rights to vote and submit motions
Die Linke: voting rights for people without German citizenship after at least five years’ residence; strengthen participation councils; “School against the Right” (anti-far-right education in schools)
AfD: “Equality instead of equalizing outcomes”: reduce the institution of equality and anti-discrimination commissioners and reject “trans ideology”; more direct democracy through direct election of the mayor and a “Volkseinwand” against “bad laws”
FDP: citizen participation as a condition for all transport planning (support for the initiative “against bollards and Kiezblocks”); support queer networks in state-owned enterprises, authorities, and businesses—“Berlin should be a place where queer people are safe, visible, and self-determined”; strengthen senior citizens’ representative bodies and abolish the State Seniors’ Advisory Council
BSW: More direct democracy: laws adopted by referendum can be changed only by another vote (example: development at the edge of Tempelhofer Feld); the Berlin Senate (Senat) and parliament can themselves submit important questions to a vote (example: an Olympic bid); a peace agenda opposing rearmament and conscription
Volt: Embed participation in the system: regular randomly selected citizens’ assemblies reflecting the city’s diversity, with politicians and the administration required to respond publicly to their recommendations; mandatory participatory budgets in the districts and at Land level, and genuine residents’ budgets with guaranteed implementation (Paris example: around 5 percent of the investment budget); optional referendum: if parliament changes a law adopted by referendum, only 2.5 percent of voters are needed to trigger a new popular vote; voting rights for EU citizens and participation by international Berliners without German passports in citizens’ assemblies; a Transparency Act requiring publication of key documents such as expert opinions, Senate decisions and contracts; a Land queer-safety strategy
Tierschutzpartei: Lower the thresholds for direct democracy: quorums, online signature collection, and lowering the threshold for resident petitions from 1,000 to 200; put in place the referendums “Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen & Co.,” “Berlin climate-neutral by 2030,” Tempelhofer Feld, “car-free Berlin,” and “ad-free Berlin”; voting rights for everyone who has lived in Berlin for at least three years, lower the voting age to 14 in the districts, abolish the Neutrality Act (ban on religious symbols for many public servants); better protection for queer people and greater accessibility
ÖDP Berlin: Mandatory local referendums at district and Land levels, citizens’ assemblies for neighborhood and district decisions with binding rules for implementing proposals, a genuine Transparency Act without loopholes, voting from age 16 and voting rights for EU citizens in parliamentary elections, a ban on party donations from companies and interest groups; civic service as a form of participation

Women’s rights and protection from domestic violence

CDU: state action plan to implement the Istanbul Convention; more shelter places including a 10th women’s shelter; prevention and perpetrator measures (incl. electronic monitoring)
SPD: gender equality as a cross-cutting task including gender budgeting; parity law for real equality; implement the Istanbul Convention; expand women’s shelters and protection; systematic police risk analyses; better protection from femicide; violence-prevention act and independent police/citizen commissioners
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: two new women’s shelters plus more second-stage housing; implement the Violence Assistance Act and Istanbul Convention; Spanish-model police procedures for domestic violence; “Who hits, leaves”; digital-violence counseling and perpetrator work
Die Linke: defend and expand women’s shelters, counseling and girls’ projects with tariff pay; implement the Istanbul Convention and Violence Assistance Act; state coordination office; mandatory perpetrator courses; school education against sexism and domestic violence
AfD: Not addressed
FDP: implement Istanbul Convention pillars; expand women’s-shelter / refuge places and the violence-protection outpatient clinic (forensic documentation of injuries); funded prevention centers + perpetrator work; STEM equality, pregnancy-conflict counseling, equal pay and public-service leadership parity
BSW: Significant focus on domestic violence: the Spanish model—an electronic ankle monitor when a court imposes a restraining order and a victim notification system; expansion of the women’s shelter network and multilingual information about assistance
Volt: Electronic ankle monitors for perpetrators of domestic violence, at least 330 additional places in women’s shelters to fulfill the Istanbul Convention, and digital sexualized violence as a distinct form of violence; the Barnahus model for children and British interagency risk teams
Tierschutzpartei: Strong section: women’s shelters at the level required by the Istanbul Convention, training for police, justice, and authorities on hate speech, stalking, and femicide, low-threshold online counseling, and more psychosocial assistance; free menstrual hygiene products in schools, universities, and public authorities
ÖDP Berlin: Not addressed

Queer and LGBTQ+ issues

CDU: affirms same-sex relationships as part of Berlin’s Heimat (sense of home/belonging); supports World Pride / InterPride bids; also expands video surveillance against queerphobic crime
SPD: implement and fund LGBTIQ+ action plan (LSBTIQ+-Aktionsplan) 2023; queer affairs commissioners (Queerbeauftragte) in all districts; Rainbow Network (Regenbogennetzwerk); strategy against online hate including queerphobia; queer-sensitive medicine
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Queere Sicherheit (queer safety): at least one queer center/youth or family place per district; queer affairs commissioners (Queerbeauftragte) in all districts with a legal basis; Queer-Mainstreaming; equal access to health, housing and work
Die Linke: Queer policy chapter: Rainbow Capital (Berlin as an LGBTQ+ haven) with a queer advisory board; fight queer poverty and housing discrimination; expand LGBTQ+ refugee shelters and queer housing for older people; protect queer bars, clubs and centers
AfD: “Equality instead of equalizing outcomes,” reduction of equality and anti-discrimination commissioners, and rejection of “trans ideology”
FDP: Support queer networks in state-owned enterprises, authorities, and businesses: Berlin as a place where queer people are safe, visible, and self-determined
BSW: scrap the state “acceptance of sexual and gender diversity” contact point as failed; redirect funds to projects against homophobic violence
Volt: A Land queer-safety strategy, regional centers assisting victims of extremist, racist, and anti-queer violence, and psychological and legal assistance
Tierschutzpartei: Protection for queer people, abolition of the Neutrality Act (ban on religious symbols for many public servants), and anti-discrimination; independent police complaints and measures against discriminatory practices
ÖDP Berlin: A Berlin based on solidarity, inclusion, and openness to the world, without discrimination based on lifestyle or beliefs

Elections: second vote and 5-percent threshold

CDU: Not addressed
SPD: instead, parity-based electoral reform and parity in the party’s own structures, the Berlin Senate (Senat), and municipal enterprises
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: voting from age 16 has been achieved, and the next step is to lower the voting age further and give voting rights to everyone whose center of life is in Berlin, regardless of citizenship (almost one million people are excluded from elections)
Die Linke: Abolish the electoral threshold in elections to parliament and the BVV; while it exists, introduce a substitute vote “so that as few votes as possible are lost,” and examine integrated runoff voting for constituency candidate elections
AfD: Not addressed
FDP: Not addressed
BSW: Not addressed
Volt: emphasis on randomly selected Bürgerräte, participatory budgets, and an optional referendum, plus voting rights for EU citizens
Tierschutzpartei: preferential voting so votes are not wasted; abolish the 5-percent threshold
ÖDP Berlin: dual vote, meaning a substitute vote: each voter can name a second party to which the vote transfers if the first does not cross the threshold—“so people can vote honestly rather than tactically”; plus mandatory local referendums and citizens’ assemblies

Party donations, lobbying, and transparency

CDU: Not addressed
SPD: Nothing about donations, but there is a goal of a ·comprehensive transparency law (Transparenzgesetz)· for Berlin
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: no separate pledges on party donations or a Transparency Act; related transparency via a housing cadastre and a real-estate register of beneficial owners
Die Linke: take no party donations from companies; MPs voluntarily cap salaries and donate; transparency law (Transparenzgesetz) with concrete publication duties, preferring civil-society drafts over the Berlin Senate (Senat) draft
AfD: Not addressed
FDP: transparency law (Transparenzgesetz) as a tool with full digitalization of services; Open Data and data-driven steering — no separate party-donation rules
BSW: no party-donation rules; transparency demanded for major projects, budgets and (e.g. media) decision-makers; close lobbyist tax loopholes via stronger tax offices (Finanzämter)
Volt: Not addressed
Tierschutzpartei: Nothing about party donations; transparency through a portal with data on municipal enterprises, free access to contracts worth €100,000 or more, and a public budget transparency platform
ÖDP Berlin: The only party demanding a ban on all parties represented in the House of Representatives accepting party donations from companies and interest groups; ÖDP itself has renounced such donations in its statutes and cites this as a guarantee of independence from lobbying; plus a genuine transparency law (Transparenzgesetz) without loopholes and full transparency of administrative actions

Advertising in public space: alcohol, tobacco, betting

CDU: Not addressed
SPD: Not addressed
Bündnis 90/Die Grünen: Supports the goal of the “Berlin werbefrei” referendum: reduce commercial advertising in public space, oppose large-format advertising on scaffolding in front of residential windows, and give a “clear no” to sexist and discriminatory advertising; restrict sports-betting advertising and tighten rules on gambling advertising; alcohol is not addressed separately
Die Linke: Supports the “Berlin werbefrei” goal and reducing commercial advertising in public space, especially large-format scaffolding advertising; separately, ban sports-betting advertising and all advertising and recruitment aimed at minors by the Bundeswehr
AfD: Not addressed
FDP: Conversely, BVG should continue earning revenue from private advertising on its spaces; the program contains no restrictions on alcohol advertising
BSW: Ban Bundeswehr advertising in schools, on BVG transport, and on municipal spaces—corresponding initiatives have already been introduced in the BVV; nothing about alcohol or tobacco
Volt: Not addressed
Tierschutzpartei: Supports the “Berlin werbefrei” referendum and the removal of commercial advertising from public space; separately, ban alcohol advertising, especially in public space, and ban advertising for animal-farming products
ÖDP Berlin: Advertising for all alcoholic beverages should be systematically removed from public space and especially from the media; also remove tobacco and alcohol from checkout areas and extend strict non-smoker protection rules to Shisha bars

Motivation

Berlin votes on 20 September 2026

Every five years Berlin elects a new Abgeordnetenhaus — the state parliament that shapes the city’s policies.

Language and access

About 16% of German citizens in Berlin come from immigrant families. Election programs are only published in German and can run to 200 pages. That’s hard even for native speakers. Wahl-O-Mat helps, but it isn’t built for a deep comparison.

Clarity and substance

Much of those 200 pages is rhetoric — hard to turn into anything concrete. We wanted clear answers: separate number-backed commitments from vague statements of intent.

What we did

We compared 10 Berlin parties on key points across transport, housing, climate and energy, security, education, health, migration, the economy, and democracy — and turned their programs into one side-by-side table.

Before you vote

The table was made with AI help; double-check the points that matter to you. Full translations of the main parties’ programs are on BerlinVote.Help.

Voting aids and other comparison tools:

Background:

After the vote — tracking promises (federal level, not Berlin):

FragDenStaat: Koalitionstracker — Ampel coalition 2021–2025 (no Merz-government tracker planned)
Regierungschecker — election and government promises with primary sources