Left Berlin calls for exploratory talks with the Greens and SPD

The special party conference of the Left Berlin has accepted a proposal from the state executive committee that calls for exploratory talks to be started with the Greens and the SPD. An amendment to the main motion was spontaneously withdrawn. The brief application states: “The Left Berlin invites Alliance 90 / The Greens Berlin and the SPD Berlin to exploratory talks with the aim of examining together whether the political prerequisites for starting coalition negotiations exist.” The election program is the basis for the talks. In a second vote, the delegates voted for substantive conditions for these talks.

In her speech at the special Left Party conference, Elif Eralp addresses the allegations of anti-Semitism against her party. She rejected the severity of the attacks: “These allegations are not nuanced criticism, but have had a destructive effect.” It is the job of politics to bring people together. “We as the left have exactly this task: bringing people together and building bridges.” This also means that "no statements come from our stages that scare Jewish people. That is absolutely unacceptable," emphasizes Eralp. “As a leftist, our empathy goes out to all people, especially everyone who experiences hatred and exclusion.” In this context, Eralp repeats her criticism of Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) for not meeting with Palestinians who had lost family members in Gaza. “I met with all communities,” says Eralp, adding: “I will protect every life in Berlin.” Specifically, she mentioned Jewish, Palestinian and queer life. “All people deserve a safe, dignified life in our city.”

In the ongoing explorations between the AfD and BSW in Saxony-Anhalt, negotiations are, among other things, about how to deal with Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk. This is reported by the “Mitteldeutsche Zeitung” published in Halle. According to “MZ” research, the two parties want to explore in the coming weeks how their respective goals for the public broadcaster fit together. AfD election winner Ulrich Siegmund has already announced that he wants to quickly terminate the state broadcasting contracts and set up a new broadcasting service.

According to “MZ” research, the BSW is entering into discussions with a less radical proposal. The Wagenknecht party therefore first wants to have it checked whether the MDR can be reformed - according to the ideas of the BSW. One criticism of BSW is that the station has been too close to the government in recent years. If the Wagenknecht party has its way, a new commission could examine whether and to what extent the MDR can be reformed. It remains unclear how the AfD and BSW will agree.

There is fundamental agreement on another topic: both parties are calling for an investigative committee in the state parliament to examine the actions of the authorities during the corona pandemic. There was actually already a government commission with a similar mandate in Saxony-Anhalt - but the AfD still sees the pandemic measures from 2020 as “unjust”. In her 100-day program, she promised during the election campaign to “name the culprits and hold them accountable.” It can therefore be assumed that state employees, civil servants and officials from back then will testify as witnesses in the committee. The BSW also wants a Corona investigation committee, and the new state parliamentary group has already made a decision on this.

The co-federal chairwoman of the Left has called on her party's Berlin regional association to confidently enter into negotiations about a government. “They are attacking us for what we are planning to do,” she said at the special party conference, referring to the criticism of the past few days and her party’s socialization plans. They want the party to become “subtle”. “We don’t let others tell us what we should demand,” said Schwerdtner. That’s why we will “go into the discussions with confidence”. Schwerdtner also promised to protect Elif Eralp and “all comrades” from attacks. "Of course they hate us for what we do here. Let their storm be the wind that carries our wings higher."

The deputy SPD chairman Alexander Schweitzer has made it a condition for a coalition with the Left in Berlin that it unequivocally distances itself from anti-Semitic positions. “The Left Party in Berlin has a clear anti-Semitism problem,” Schweitzer told the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung” (Saturday edition). "She has to solve that. Only then can the SPD accept her as a coalition partner in Berlin." Anyone who tolerates people in their ranks who not only formulate a “completely legitimate criticism of Israeli government policy,” but also deny Israel’s right to exist and even spread fantasies of expulsion, is violating the “democratic post-war consensus in Germany.” Schweitzer added: "If the party's line on the issue of anti-Semitism is really as clear as the state chairwoman and top candidate publicly postulates, then the party leadership must ensure that this position is recognized by all elected officials and party representatives, without exception."

The Greens support the attempt to form a coalition with the Left in Berlin, which, among other things, plans to expropriate tens of thousands of apartments. Co-chair Felix Banaszak told the “FAZ” (Saturday edition): “As the winner of the election, the Berlin Left deserves the chance to prove that you can form a government with them.” Banaszak also defended the party, which was criticized for allegations of anti-Semitism, against “disproportionate” attacks. She managed to “give a voice and hope to people who have recently felt their everyday concerns have not been heard by politics” – including Muslims and Palestinians.

Top candidate Elif Eralp begins her speech with thanks and then moves directly to the central campaign theme: “We need a policy that takes on the corporations,” she said and repeated her party’s most important demands: a rent cap, law and order on the rental market, socialization. Eralp pointed out that the housing company Vonovia had paid out one billion euros to shareholders, "while the tenants can no longer afford their weekly shopping at the end of the month." Eralp continued: “Because of this daily cold expropriation of tenants, Vonovia and Co. must finally be socialized.” Regarding criticism of the project, she said: “We will not be intimidated by it.”

The state chairwoman of the Left Berlin, Kerstin Wolter, responded to the criticism of her party in her speech at the party conference. “Yes, mistakes were made in our party too, boundaries were crossed, sentences were spoken that hurt Jews,” she said. At the same time, she stated: “We and our arbitration courts decide on exclusions and not the others.” However, the party has a duty to investigate these cases. “Anyone who scares people leaves the corridor of democratic debate.” Wolter also emphasized: "We stand for Jewish life and Palestinian life in our city. We stand for Israel's right to exist and Palestine's right to exist."

In the Berlin SPD, representatives of the left wing are now calling for a coalition with the election winner, Die Linke, and the Greens. The deputy state chairwoman Cansel Kiziltepe said: “The people of Berlin decided on left-wing politics on election day.” She added: “Even if the SPD was clearly voted out: Our overlaps with the Left and the Greens are obvious,” said Kiziltepe, who is a Social Senator, to the German Press Agency. “It is our democratic mandate to enter into coalition negotiations with these majorities.” At the same time, a resolution “For a new social democratic awakening and a red-green-red Berlin” is supported by many party officials. The SPD’s election defeat “opened up opportunities for a progressive Senate coalition” and this opportunity must be used, the call says. It was signed by Bundestag members Annika Klose, Hakan Demir and Ruppert Stüwe, retired Berlin MPs such as Ülker Radzuwill and Sebastian Schlüsselburg, several state secretaries, district chairmen and other party representatives.

The Berlin Greens want to closely involve their party members before a possible government is formed. “After successful explorations, a state committee (small party conference) will discuss the results and decide whether to enter into coalition negotiations,” said a statement from the Berlin state association of the Greens. The basis for a stable government must be a coalition agreement. “This coalition agreement and also the staff who will be responsible for us in the government must be supported by the entire party,” said the Greens. The results after the coalition negotiations should therefore be discussed with the entire party and then asked the members of the party: “Do you want this coalition and do you want to follow us with our personnel proposal?”