Berlin Coalition Talks Stall Over Israel Stance

The Green Party and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Berlin have suspended exploratory coalition talks with the far-left party Die Linke and its mayoral candidate, Elif Eralp. The primary reason cited for the suspension is disagreements concerning Israel and the fight against antisemitism. This pause comes less than a week after the Greens and SPD agreed to begin negotiations, following an agreement by all three parties to sign a commitment document. This document recognized Israel's right to exist, pledged to combat antisemitism, and supported condemning the October 7th attacks. However, despite these commitments from the party leadership, a pro-Palestinian faction within Die Linke refused to accept the agreed-upon principles, pushing party members to sign a different version than the one agreed upon with the Greens and SPD.

"We have noticed that the Left Party has reached a different agreement within its own party. This means we have to suspend the exploratory talks at this stage to assess whether our agreement from last week is still valid," stated Werner Graf of the Greens and Stefan Krach of the SPD in a joint press release. "We expect the Left Party to clarify to us the extent to which it takes the agreements seriously."

The joint statement drafted before the talks addressed antisemitism, Israel's right to exist, and distancing from organized crime. However, on the same day, members of the Die Linke faction signed a different text, closer to the internal positions of the party's pro-Palestinian wing. This version omits the stipulation that Israel's right to exist is "non-negotiable" and also excludes potential sanctions for agreement violations, such as expulsion from the party. A prominent figure within this faction, Vanessa Amade, who holds radical anti-Israel views, was present at the faction meeting. She has previously stated that "states do not have a right to exist, people do," and supports a "one-state solution."

Die Linke is attempting to downplay the divergence between the agreed text and the version signed by the faction. Eralp, whose background is compared to New York Mayor, stated the party wants "inclusive policies for all people, for the protection and security of Jewish, Palestinian, and Muslim lives." However, the issue is divisive within the party. Two open letters from pro-Palestinian activists called the agreement, which recognizes Israel's right to exist and demands practical measures against antisemitism, a "serious political mistake." They accused the Greens and SPD of "shamelessly" using antisemitism accusations against the party and claimed there is no antisemitism within the far-left party in Berlin. The party's deputy chairwoman in Berlin, Marta Kalipfer, warned she would work against entering coalition negotiations with the Greens and SPD. The party congress at the end of October will decide how to proceed, and Die Linke activists are planning a protest outside the SPD headquarters.

Die Linke won 25.7% of the vote in last month's election, largely due to strong support from young people and immigrant communities, many of whom hold strong anti-Israel stances. However, without the Greens (14.3%) and SPD (12.1%), Die Linke cannot govern. The Greens and SPD are facing national pressure not to cooperate with Die Linke due to alleged antisemitic expressions and anti-Israel sentiments. Public figures, Jewish community leaders, and senior politicians in Germany have spoken out strongly against forming a coalition with the far-left party. Chancellor Friedrich Merz described Die Linke in Berlin as "extremely radical left" and stated a written agreement would not suffice to allay suspicions. Eralp responded that it is "unacceptable for Chancellor Merz to interfere in the formation of a government in Berlin."

Lukas Krieger, Secretary-General of the CDU, a party known for its strong pro-Israel stance, stated that "red lines have long been crossed" and the CDU, which won 18.8%, is urging the Greens and SPD to negotiate with them instead. Despite Die Linke's electoral success, the three centrist parties, CDU, Greens, and SPD, could form a coalition without Die Linke or the far-right AfD. This coalition would be relatively fragile, holding a slim majority of 79 seats in the 153-seat parliament.