Konstantin Nowotny is a freelance author and editor living in Berlin. He currently works for the German newspaper taz.
The anti-immigrant Alternative für Deutschland made big gains in Germany’s state elections this Sunday. The grim outcome shows how the wounds of reunification are pitching eastern regions toward the far right.
On Thursday, a rent cap introduced by Berlin’s city government was struck down by the German Constitutional Court. But public opposition to the private landlords has been building for years — and now, a referendum on forced renationalization looks like the only way of breaking their power.