Berlin appeal for responsibility: celebrities from the CDU, Greens and SPD warn against red-green-red in Berlin

After the Left Party's election victory in Berlin, around 80 people from politics and civil society are warning against a coalition with the party. In a “Berlin Appeal for Responsibility,” they justify their stance with the fear that a government led by the Berlin Left could no longer guarantee the safety of Jews in the city.

The first signatories include former Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse (SPD), ex-Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer (Greens) and the former head of the Chancellery Peter Altmaier (CDU). The open letter is published in full on the Internet. The Tagesspiegel first reported.

The appeal states that we must look for a government majority that reflects the interests of as broad a section of society as possible and that has common basic beliefs about the rule of law and democracy. “We don’t see that happening with a red-green-red government.”

The appeal cites the protection of Jewish life, an unambiguous demarcation from extremism, the financial stability of the city and strong security authorities as examples of critical points in the formation of a government. “We therefore expect the democratic parties not to make their decisions based on political habits, but rather based on clear standards.” The goal must be a stable and responsible government. “The CDU, the Alliance Greens and the SPD now have the task of seriously examining how they can take joint responsibility for Berlin against this background,” says the appeal.

Politicians and representatives of the Jewish community

Co-initiator Volker Beck, President of the German-Israeli Society, published the document. Well-known representatives of the Jewish community also signed the appeal, as did the founder of the Ibn Rushd Goethe Mosque, Seyran Ateş. The list of signatures under the document also includes the former representative for the Stasi documents, Marianne Birthler, the former SPD state leader Martin Hikel and several former city senators.

The signatories of the document describe themselves as “members or voters of the CDU, SPD and Alliance 90/The Greens”. In the appeal they write that they “view what unites our parties as greater and more important than what divides them.”