Die Linke votes tonight on talks to run Berlin, and the SPD says it is ready
A Linke–Green–SPD coalition would hold 95 of 158 seats, a comfortable majority. First the party congress has to approve talks, and then the other two want a clear answer on antisemitism.
Die Linke came first in Berlin for the first time on Sunday, with 25.7% of the second votes, and wants its lead candidate Elif Eralp to become Governing Mayor. At a party congress this Friday the delegates vote on whether to invite the Greens and the SPD to exploratory talks. The leadership supports the plan and expects a majority for it, although some members still oppose joining a government at all. If the vote goes through, the talks could start next week. They are not yet coalition negotiations, just a check on whether negotiations could succeed.
The other parties moved on Thursday. The SPD named its state chair Steffen Krach and MP Çaglar to lead its parliamentary group, and Krach said the party is ready to talk with Die Linke. Former Governing Mayors Michael Müller and Walter Momper, both SPD, have warned against it. The CDU made finance senator Stefan Evers its group leader. He is open to a CDU–Green–SPD alliance, which would also have a majority with 82 seats, but says he will wait to see what Die Linke's talks produce.
The Greens say clarity on antisemitism is a precondition for starting talks at all. rbb24, summarising the Green position
Two issues could stop a red–green–red deal. The first is antisemitism. Parts of the Berlin Linke have been criticised again and again for their positions on the Middle East, and both the Greens and the SPD want the party to say plainly that it opposes antisemitism and will protect Jewish life before talks begin. Die Linke and the Greens have already held preliminary meetings and agreed to start with security, the protection of Jewish and queer life, and the fight against antisemitism and racism. On Thursday 150 Jewish Berliners published an open letter defending Die Linke against the accusations. Leading Green Cem Özdemir has warned his party against the coalition.
The second is housing. Die Linke wants to expropriate large housing companies, with compensation, to bring 220,000 more flats into public ownership and slow rising rents. A 2021 referendum backed the idea and the Greens support it, but Krach said during the campaign that there would be no expropriations with him in charge.