FORMING COALITIONS in Germany is usually a pedestrian(平淡无奇的) affair. Not in Berlin. On September 20th Die Linke, a populist-left outfit(团体，组织), won an election in the capital, one of Germany’s three city-states(城邦，城市州). But its attempt to build a leftist coalition with the Greens and Social Democrats has been hindered by scandal and strife. Conservatives say Die Linke is riddled with(充斥，布满) antisemites and pals around with(与……厮混，结交) terrorist-coddlers(纵容者，溺爱者). Hardliners in the party rage against their leaders for conceding to Zionist principles. Senior Social Democrats are urging their comrades in Berlin to pull the plug(终止，叫停).
在德国，组建联合政府通常是件平淡无奇的事。柏林则不然。9月20日，民粹左翼团体德国左翼党（Die Linke）在首都选举中获胜——柏林是德国三个城邦之一。但它与绿党、社民党组建左翼联合政府的尝试，却因丑闻和内斗而受阻。保守派称，左翼党内充斥着反犹分子，还与纵容恐怖分子的人称兄道弟。党内强硬派则怒斥领导层向犹太复国主义原则让步。社民党高层正敦促其在柏林的同志退出谈判。
Undeterred(未气馁的), the three parties began negotiating a coalition deal on November 2nd. Its centrepiece(核心，中心内容) will be one of the most radical expropriation(征收，征用) plans ever proposed in western Europe: Die Linke’s signature(标志性的) policy to “socialise”, in the preferred lingo(行话，说法), the rental properties of big corporate landlords. “Housing is a human right. And we want to take that right out of the hands of(从……手中夺回权利) speculators(投机者),” said Elif Eralp, Die Linke’s mayoral candidate, before the election.
三个政党并未气馁，于11月2日开始谈判联合执政协议。协议的核心将是西欧有史以来最激进的征收计划之一：左翼党的标志性政策——用他们偏爱的说法——“社会化”大型企业房东的出租房产。“住房是一项人权。我们要把这项权利从投机者手中夺回来，”左翼党市长候选人埃利夫·埃拉尔普在选举前表示。
The idea dates to a referendum(全民公投) held in 2021, after years of surging(飙升的) rents in the once-cheap capital (see chart). Only around 15% of Berliners own their homes, and a clear majority backed a plan to seize properties of corporations that own over 3,000 units, with compensation.(只有约15%的柏林人拥有自有住房，而绝大多数人支持一项计划：征收拥有超过3000套住房的企业的房产，并给予补偿。) The city government kicked it into the long grass(束之高阁，拖延). But the idea persisted(持续存在), and last year the campaigners behind the 2021 initiative(倡议，公民动议) wrote a draft bill that could inspire the law to come. Die Linke placed the idea at the heart of its election campaign.
这一构想可追溯至2021年的一次公投，此前这座曾经房租低廉的首都经历了多年租金飙升（见图表）。只有约15%的柏林人拥有自有住房，而绝大多数人支持一项计划：征收拥有超过3000套住房的企业的房产，并给予补偿。市政府将其束之高阁。但这一构想并未消失，去年，2021年公投的推动者起草了一份法案草案，可能为未来的立法提供蓝本。左翼党则将此构想置于其竞选活动的核心。