The election winners, the Left Party, the Greens and the SPD, are starting talks about forming a government in Berlin this Thursday. This is what you need to know about it.
What is it about?
In the House of Representatives election on September 20th, the Left was the strongest force with 25.7 percent. She wants to forge a coalition with the Greens (14.3 percent) and the SPD (12.1 percent). If this succeeds, the Left could nominate a governing mayor in Berlin for the first time with its top candidate Elif Eralp.
How are the conversations going?
After elections, possible coalition partners usually meet for exploratory talks. They explore whether there is a common basis for coalition negotiations and which central issues and conflicts they want to focus on. However, those involved do not want the three-way meeting in Berlin to be seen as the start of the explorations. We are talking about a “preliminary discussion”, the primary aim of which is to reach a common understanding on the subject of anti-Semitism.
Why is this necessary?
Before exploratory talks begin, the Greens and the SPD are calling for clear and binding decisions on how to deal with anti-Semitism and protect Jewish life - both within the Left and in a possible coalition. “It will also address issues such as racism, organized crime and social cohesion,” explained the Greens and the SPD. “Agreement on this is a basic prerequisite for explorations.” The Left has agreed to the procedure.
What is the background?
Parts of the Berlin Left have long been criticized for their positions on Israel and Palestine and anti-Semitism. Shortly before the election, the appearance of a rapper with calls for violence at a Neukölln Left election campaign event caused discussions. He is said to have sung a song against Israel's war in Gaza with lines such as "Yalla Yalla Intifada West Bank, Palestine, Gaza" and "Death to the IDF".
An election party also recently caused a stir by the Neukölln Left, at which both the head of an Arab-born and partly criminal clan and a controversial pro-Palestinian activist were present.
What happens next after the preliminary discussion?
If the desired agreement comes about, whether after one or more meetings, exploratory talks would begin. We're talking about next week. The parties have already appointed exploratory teams. The Left includes parliamentary group leader Eralp, co-parliamentary group leader Tobias Schulze and party leaders Kerstin Wolter and Maximilian Schirmer.
The Green team consists of the parliamentary group leaders Bettina Jarasch and Werner Graf as well as the state chairmen Nina Stahr and Philmon Ghirmai. The SPD wants to send its party leaders Steffen Krach and Bettina König as well as the designated co-parliamentary group leader Derya Caglar to explore, as well as specialist politicians who are well versed in certain topics if necessary.
Which topics are likely to be particularly important in explorations?
A big chunk will be the issue of housing and rents, which played an enormous role in the election campaign. The Left's central demand is the corporatization of large housing companies in order to get 220,000 apartments into municipal hands and more influence on the housing market. A majority of Berliners voted in favor of it in a referendum in 2021. The Greens also want to implement the referendum and develop a law about it.
However, SPD leader Krach declared during the election campaign that with him there would be no expropriations. One question is where the billions of dollars with which the corporations would have to be compensated will come from.
Are there any other difficult topics?
An important point is likely to be the country's tense budget situation, which makes drawing up the coming budgets a complicated undertaking. According to calculations by experts, more than four billion euros are missing to finance the 2028 budget alone, around a tenth of the current total budget. In the years that follow, there is a risk of further billion-dollar gaps. This is likely to severely limit all three parties' ability to implement expensive election promises and may even require cuts in many areas.
What does the roadmap look like after explorations?
If the three parties actually explore and the talks are successful, then the actual coalition negotiations could begin. For the Left, a party conference should decide on this beforehand; for the Greens, a so-called small party conference should decide on this.
It is unclear how long the explorations will last. According to reports, they could run until mid-October, the start of the autumn holidays in Berlin. Important to know: Explorations can always fail, as can coalition negotiations. The road to red-green-red in Berlin is still very long.
