{
  "id": 6780649,
  "title": "Before Berlin election: Berlin SPD's top candidate rejects new allegations",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/vor-berlin-wahl-berliner-spd-spitzenkandidat-weist-neue-vorwurfe",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-11T16:33:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/vor-berlin-wahl-berliner-spd-spitzenkandidat-weist-neue-vorwuerfe-zurueck/100253737.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "Steffen Krach, the SPD's top candidate and party leader in Berlin, is facing new details about investigations against him in the run-up to the election. The Hanover public prosecutor's office accuses him of demanding a party donation from an entrepreneur twice in connection with an award procedure and of improperly passing on business secrets in a property sale procedure when he was president of the Hanover region. Krach denies the allegations, saying he is confident that the investigation will show they are unfounded. The SPD is polling at 10-12% in recent surveys, far behind The Left on 21-23%, ahead of the CDU on 20-21%, AfD on 17-18%, and the Greens on 16%.",
  "summary": "Just before the Berlin election, SPD top man Steffen Krach cannot focus on the election campaign. Instead, there are new allegations in the air, which he vehemently denies. What do the polls say?",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}