Berlin SPD and Greens pause coalition talks with the Left amid dispute over Israel statement
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The Social Democratic Party and the Greens have temporarily suspended exploratory talks with the Left Party after a disagreement over Israel policy and antisemitism language, while leaving room for negotiations to resume.
Berlin's Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens said on Tuesday that they are pausing exploratory coalition negotiations with the Left Party. The move comes after a dispute over a joint statement on Israel's right to exist and measures against antisemitism, with the Left Party choosing its own text that left out references to Israel's existence as "non-negotiable" and did not adopt the proposed sanctions for violations.
"We have taken note that the Left Party have reached a different arrangement within their own party," the joint statement from SPD lead candidate Steffen Krach and Greens lead candidate Werner Graf said.
The parties also emphasized that this is not the end of the road. "This means that at this point we have to interrupt the coalition negotiations, so as to evaluate whether or not our agreement from last week still stands," they added, while urging the Left to clarify its commitment to the earlier agreements.
The Left emerged as Berlin's largest party in the recent state election with just under 26% of the vote, while the Greens and SPD received about 14% and 12% respectively. A combined left-leaning bloc would hold a slim majority in the city-state parliament, though the SPD and Greens could also consider a coalition with the conservative CDU, which finished second with 18.8%.
Conservative Christian Democrats and Chancellor Friedrich Merz have criticized the Left's stance, arguing that the SPD and Greens should talk to the CDU instead. Merz said allegations of impropriety against the Left "cannot be dismissed with a piece of paper."