The Challengers:
Who Will Make the Leap into Parliament?
September 4, 2026
18:00–20:00
Event language: German
On September 4, Berlin hosted an open debate between parties that are not yet represented in the Berlin House of Representatives: FDP, BSW and Volt.

On stage, Dr. med. Batuhan Temiz (FDP), Torsten Holze (BSW) and Dr. Nicolas Künzel (Volt) faced each other, with political scientist Alex Yusupov moderating the evening. The event attracted a great deal of attention: the hall was packed, while viewers also followed the livestream on the OstWest YouTube channel. The recording received almost 5,000 views in its first week, and more than 60 questions were submitted by the audience.

The evening began with an interactive Mentimeter poll to gauge the audience’s preferences at the start of the event. After a dynamic lightning round, the discussion moved on to Berlin’s most pressing issues: cleanliness in public spaces, safety, homelessness and, of course, soaring housing costs. The candidates not only answered questions from the moderator and the audience, but also questioned each other, making the discussion more direct and engaging.

At the end of the evening, the audience voted again via Mentimeter to see whether their preferences had changed during the two-hour debate.

The event was held as part of the “Ankommen im Dialog” project, which helps Russian-speaking Berliners, including Germans from Russia and late repatriates, better understand local politics and participate more confidently in the life of the city.


Unfortunately, due to limited time, the candidates were unable to answer all the questions from the audience during the debate. However, we asked the participants to address the most pressing topics in writing, and you can now read the responses from representatives of Volt and FDP.

Speakers
  • Dr. med. Batuhan Temiz
    Vertreter der FDP
    District Chairman of the FDP Lichtenberg, list candidate for the district



  • Torsten Holze
    Vertreter der BSW
    Direct-election candidate for the
    Berlin House of Representatives



  • Dr. Nicolas Künzel
    Vertreter der Volt
    Candidate for the Berlin House of
    Representatives in a constituency



Moderator
  • Alex Yusupov
    Political scientist, expert on democracy, civil society, and socio-political dialogue, one of the authors and hosts of the podcast "Kanzler und Berghain"
How It WENT
Can’t make it in person? Watch on YouTube!
Supported by
Organizers