Ferat Koçak (Die Linke) wants to create the miracle of Neukölln

The sun shines through a window on the sixth floor of an apartment building in the north of Neukölln and breaks in the reflectors of a red warning vest. The West: Ferat Koçak, direct candidate of the left in Berlin-Neukölln. A quick look at the name tag on the door, then rings.

It is Thursday afternoon, three days before the Bundestag election. There are strenuous weeks behind the 45-year-old. Since the beginning of the year he has been moving from door to door with his supporters and advertises himself and his mission: the direct mandate of the left in the constituency of Neukölln. It would be the first direct mandate ever to win the left in the west in a federal election. The party, which was just dead, now believes in a miracle?

Already in October, the Neuköllner Linke began to conduct front -door talks in order to experience people’s problems, says Barbara Heinrich from Koçak’s team. With the help of around 2000 supporters, the election campaign officially started from January. They rang the rang at hundreds of doors, at thousands, at more than 119,000 doors, they say. They had around 44,000 discussions.

In advance, it was calculated where it is most worthwhile to go hunting voices. This is especially the north of Neukölln and some areas in the south, such as in Gropiusstadt. There is greater poverty and the number of non -voters is higher than in the single -family housing estates.

A rumbling in the hallway, then a middle -aged woman opens the door. She wears a blue headscarf. You can hear children in the background. First, Koçak changes a few words to Turkish with her. Koçak also speaks Kurdish and English. This can be helpful, especially in Neukölln, where many people live with migration history. In German he then asks the woman the question he asks everyone these days: “Let’s say that you are Chancellor, what would you change?”

Most people then speak of exploding rents and high living costs, says Koçak. “A grandma told me about tears in my eyes that she has worked for 40 years and still couldn’t get a gift for her grandchild.”

For the woman with the headscarf, other things are important at first. It’s about racism, about discrimination. She says she is stamped by others as if she was not working, no German speak, do not pay taxes. They are also worried about the safety of the children in Neukölln. Koçak nods, listens, hooks.

When the woman complains that people who receive citizenship would get almost as much money as she earns, Koçak contradicts. “We always look down quickly, but we should look up.” The argument draws. “Maybe you persuaded me,” says the woman at the end of the conversation.

At the federal level, too, the left manages to convince more and more people. If she was still three to four percent in the political death zone a few weeks ago, she can hope for up to eight percent, according to the latest surveys.

Originally, the “Mission Silberlocke” with the prominent names Dietmar Bartsch, Gregor Gysi and Bodo Ramelow was to secure the move into the Bundestag. The focus was on the three direct mandates, which would have prevented the expulsion from parliament in less than five percent of the second votes.

If the forecasts should come true, the left would now move into the Bundestag without direct mandates. However, a look at the past election shows that surveys are not always relying. Also in 2021, the left was shortly before the election above the blocking clause – in the end it was only 4.9 percent.

However, according to the website Wahlkreisprognose.de, the chances of winning their constituency are not good for the “silver curls” Bartsch and Ramelow. In the end, it could also happen on Ferat Koçak in Neukölln.

In his constituency, Hakan Demir recently won the direct mandate from the SPD with 25.8 percent. The left candidate, Lucia Schnell, only came to 12.9 percent. Why should it turn out differently at Koçak? How does he manage to inspire people for themselves? What does he do differently than his competitors? He says: “My way of doing politics is just real, people feel that.” An example of this is his language. He speaks at the front door and in parliament as well as with his cousins.

While Koçak goes through the streets of Neukölln, he is repeatedly addressed. People wave to him, smile at him. Chance three children from the other side of the street: “The left, the left …” It is obvious, Ferat Koçak is at home in Neukölln. His grandparents came to Germany as guest workers from Anatolia. He himself was born in neighboring Kreuzberg and grew up in Neukölln. After studying business, he worked in marketing for many years. For Koçak, strengthening the AfD was the reason to go into politics. He has been a member of the Berlin House of Representatives since 2021. He describes his commitment as “active, unadjusted, anti -racist and anti -fascist”.

Koçak is controversial as a politician. Again and again he can be seen as a parliamentary observer at pro-Palestinian events, criticizes the Israeli government and dealing with the pro-Palestinian demonstrations. He is regularly criticized for this. It was only in early February that the Berliner Zeitung reported on an election campaign event, to which the Neuköllner Linke is said to have invited the ex-boss of the British Labor Party, Jeremy Corbyn.

Corbyn is repeatedly accused of anti -Semitism. In 2009 he described the terrorist organizations Hamas and Hisbollah as “friends”. After public criticism of the invitation, among other things by the Neuköllner direct candidate Ottilie Klein (CDU), the appointment was canceled again. According to reports, the reason was a non -movable date of Corbyn.

Koçak himself says his political compass is international law and human rights. He condemned the terror of Hamas. Nevertheless, when voting in the Berlin House of Representatives, he abstained about the application, “Berlin is on the side of Israel”, which was adopted shortly after October 7, 2023. In an explanation, he explains his abstention by the fact that the suffering of the Palestinians is not named by the subsequent Israeli military surgery.

The criticism rarely meets him at the front doors, says Koçak. “For me it is important to stand at the side of the oppressed, at the side of the people who cannot afford life at the end of the month.” He does not have to worry that the candidacy could not work. He had already won with what he and his team in Neukölln had achieved so far. And adds: “This is not an election campaign, that’s a movement.” Maybe she leads him to the Bundestag.