Berlin's mayoral race heats up as SPD's Steffen Krach vows to stay in the city
Berlin (dpa/bb) – Steffen Krach, the SPD's lead candidate in Berlin, has vowed to stay in the capital even if he loses the upcoming election. "There's no return ticket to Hanover," he told the Berliner Zeitung. "My family lives in Berlin again, my children go to kindergarten and school here, and my wife works here."
The SPD politician has served as regional president of his hometown, Hanover, since 2021. For his Berlin campaign, he took a leave of absence, arguing it would have been wrong to continue drawing a full salary in Hanover while running. "Hanover also holds elections a week before Berlin's vote. That's when my time there ends."
"I feel like a Berliner"
Krach is running in Steglitz-Zehlendorf for a seat in the city's state parliament, where he tops the SPD's candidate list. "So the odds are good that I'll be in the Abgeordnetenhaus. And honestly, I'm quite optimistic that things will work out and I'll become Berlin's governing mayor."
He dismisses concerns that, as a non-native, he lacks the credentials to lead the capital. "Willy Brandt and other governing mayors weren't born in Berlin either," he told the paper. "I moved here in 2002, studied, got my first job, and rented my first apartment. My wife and I married at Schöneberg Town Hall, and—by the way—all three of our children were born in Berlin.""What I'm saying is: I feel like a Berliner, even if I wasn't born here."
Krach's passion for tennis
His policy priorities, he says, include affordable housing, strong economic growth, and a well-functioning city. He aims to make Berlin a hub for healthcare—with faster doctor's appointments—and a family-friendly metropolis with robust education policies.
Krach shares one hobby with his rival, incumbent mayor Kai Wegner (CDU): tennis. "I love it," he admitted in the interview. He has played almost nonstop since he was twelve. "It's not exactly the most popular sport in this city right now, but unlike some people, I know when not to play."
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