After the election in Berlin: Parties seek agreement on the issue of anti-Semitism in Berlin

The Left, Greens and SPD in Berlin have not yet announced an agreement in their talks with a view to possibly forming a government. Two and a half weeks after the election to the Berlin state parliament, the three parties are still looking for a common line on how to consistently deal with anti-Semitism, according to dpa information.

After the third so-called preliminary discussion, the top staff of the three parties left the conference venue in the late afternoon without commenting on the content. However, an agreement on this is considered a prerequisite for the start of explorations with a view to possibly forming a government in the capital under left-wing leadership.

There will therefore be another meeting on Thursday - in the hope of actually getting over the finish line on the topic that was recently hotly debated in Berlin.

The left is criticized

Parts of the Berlin Left have long been criticized for their positions on Israel and Palestine and anti-Semitism. Some of these are statements made by individual Left members that are criticized as anti-Semitic.

An election party by the Neukölln Left on September 20th caused a stir. Both the head of an Arab-born and partly criminal clan and a controversial pro-Palestinian activist were present. He is said to be close to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU.

This also caused irritation among potential coalition partners. The Greens and the SPD then called for a common understanding on the issues of anti-Semitism, racism and organized crime before exploratory talks begin.

Explorations are the preliminary stage of negotiations about a government coalition. Those involved first determine which content is particularly important to them and whether coalition negotiations seem promising to them at all.

Coalition negotiations are not yet foreseeable

If so, the individual subject areas from climate protection to the budget and from transport to education to domestic policy will be discussed. But the three parties in Berlin are not there yet.

However, the alternatives to red-green-red are manageable. In the election to the House of Representatives on September 20th, the Left was by far the strongest force with 25.7 percent. They are followed by the CDU (18.8 percent), AfD (16.3 percent), the Greens (14.3 percent) and the SPD (12.1 percent).

The previously ruling coalition of CDU and SPD has lost its majority in the state parliament. The Left is now relying on a red-green-red coalition. If that happens, she and her top candidate and co-parliamentary group leader Elif Eralp could nominate a governing mayor in Berlin for the first time.

A coalition of the CDU, the Greens and the SPD would also be mathematically possible if the Left, the Greens and the Social Democrats do not find each other. The SPD has also discussed the possibility of tolerating a minority government made up of the Left and the Greens. However, given the challenges facing Berlin, starting with the need to draw up a new budget, this is at least considered problematic.

Skepticism towards red-green-red

On the other hand, there has recently been a lot of headwind for a red-green-red government alliance. The “Berlin Appeal for Responsibility,” for example, recently warned against a coalition with the left.

Among the approximately 80 initial signatories are prominent voices, including former Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse (SPD), ex-Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer (Greens) and the former head of the Chancellery Peter Altmaier (CDU).

“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 says.