The Greens and the Social Democrats (SPD) have paused talks on forming a state government in Berlin with the Left Party, mainly over disagreements about anti-Semitism. Last Thursday, these parties had entered into a binding agreement detailing their commitment to addressing anti-Semitism, which included a strong affirmation of Israel’s right to exist. This agreement was a fundamental condition for the Greens and SPD to initiate talks with the Left Party, which has faced scrutiny for its positions on Israel and Palestine, as well as issues of anti-Semitism.
However, on Tuesday, the Left Party issued an alternative statement on anti-Semitism, prompting the Greens and SPD to suspend negotiations. Greens leader Werner Graf and SPD spokesman Steffen Krach remarked, “At this stage, we must temporarily suspend discussions to evaluate whether our agreement from last week is still valid.”
In response, the Left Party expressed its surprise at the suspension and maintained that the prior agreement remains in effect. According to sources close to the negotiations, cited by the German news agency dpa, the Greens and SPD said they do not object to specific parts of the Left’s new statement on anti-Semitism. Still, they want clarification on the rationale for issuing it.
Additionally, the Greens and SPD have raised concerns about the participation of Neukölln district councillor Vanessa Emde in the discussions, as she has faced criticism for her strongly pro-Palestinian views. After the 20 September elections, the Left Party secured 45 seats in the 158-member state parliament, while the Greens won 25 and the SPD 21. The CDU holds 33 seats, and the right-wing extremist Alternative for Germany (AfD) has 29.
