Coalition talks in Berlin stalled on Tuesday after the Greens and Social Democrats suspended negotiations with The Left party over a dispute regarding a joint declaration on antisemitism and the inclusion of a controversial lawmaker.
Negotiations for a potential three-party state government in Berlin hit a wall on Tuesday after the Greens and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) halted exploratory talks with The Left party. The suspension throws a proposed left-leaning coalition into doubt just weeks after Berlin’s September 20 election, where The Left emerged as the strongest force.
Disputes Over Antisemitism Declarations And Party Realities
Before exploratory talks even began, the three prospective coalition partners drafted a joint statement addressing antisemitism, Israel’s right to exist, and maintaining distance from organized crime. The preliminary agreement specified that Israel’s right to exist was non-negotiable
and required parties to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which covers modern forms targeting Israel such as demonizing the Jewish state and denying its right to exist.
However, cracks formed quickly within The Left. On Tuesday, as 44 members of The Left’s newly elected Berlin parliamentary group met, they signed off on an internal text that omitted the characterization of Israel’s right to exist as non-negotiable and dialed back support for the IHRA definition. State chair Kerstin Wolter-Ehling spoke to the media as exploratory talks proceeded, while senior figures including Tobias Schulze faced intense public scrutiny. Under the proposed framework, new membership applications from Left Party members would be rejected and existing memberships reviewed due to concerns that Israel-related antisemitism had found an institutional platform within the party.
We stand by Israel’s right to exist and for equal rights for all people in Israel.
The suspension was triggered when Green Party negotiator Werner Graf and SPD representative Steffen Krach issued a joint statement noting that The Left’s parliamentary group had reached separate agreements of its own. This means we have to suspend exploratory talks at this point to assess whether our agreement from last week still stands,
they said. The parties also cited concerns over the inclusion of Vanessa Emde, a lawmaker who has refused to recognize Israel’s right to exist, into Berlin’s new parliamentary group.
Dissent Inside The Left And Pushback From Berlin Leaders
Senior figures inside The Left defended their position while expressing surprise at the sudden halt. Tobias Schulze insisted that the previous agreement remained valid, telling public broadcaster RBB that parts of the new parliamentary declaration were identical to last week’s pact.
Outside the negotiating room, the backlash was sharp. Volker Beck, president of the German-Israeli Society (DIG), accused Schulze of undermining the preliminary agreement shortly after its publication. Meanwhile, Bettina Koenig, state chairwoman of the SPD, and Nina Stahr, state chairwoman of the Greens, had previously participated in high-level press appearances alongside Kerstin Wolter-Ehling to launch the discussions.
One thing is clear: The three Berlin parties have failed to reach a common understanding of what constitutes antisemitism.
Fiscal Hurdles Strain Coalition Talks in Berlin
Beyond the ideological rift over antisemitism, negotiators at the House of Statistics in central Berlin faced severe fiscal hurdles. The state’s budgetary situation is deeply strained, with participants warning that multibillion-euro holes will emerge in the coming years. This financial pressure left open questions about how The Left intends to finance its campaign promises.
Meanwhile, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which finished second in the September election with 18.8% of the vote behind The Left’s 25.7 percent, urged the SPD and Greens to abandon talks with The Left and negotiate a coalition government with them instead. Friedrich Merz also weighed in, asserting that the controversies facing The Left cannot be dismissed with a piece of paper.
It is unclear whether the Greens and SPD will agree, as both parties demand formal clarity on how seriously The Left intends to implement their shared safeguards.