SPD Bundestag members, including Nancy Faeser, block coalition talks with Berlin Left over antisemitism concerns
Twenty SPD Bundestag deputies, among them former interior minister Nancy Faeser, signed a declaration opposing coalition negotiations with the Berlin Left Party because of antisemitism disputes and alleged extremist contacts.
A group of twenty SPD members of the federal parliament, including ex-interior minister Nancy Faeser, issued a joint statement rejecting any coalition talks with the Berlin branch of the Left Party. Citing repeated antisemitism incidents, connections to the Remmo milieu and contacts with extremist actors, they claim these issues cast doubt on the Left's political reliability. The deputies also doubt the practical impact of a recent pact on antisemitism and organized crime signed by the Left, Greens and SPD, noting that fundamental principles had to be codified in writing first.
They assert that safeguarding Jewish life cannot be treated as a peripheral matter and that any perceived tolerance of extremist influence would erode confidence in police and security services. While criticizing the Berlin Left, they emphasize that the AfD, particularly its far-right structures, remains the biggest danger to Germany's democratic order. The statement makes clear it targets only the Berlin state branch and does not condemn the national Left Party as a whole.
Why it matters
The dissent could stall a red-red-green coalition in Berlin, reshaping the city's political landscape.
How this story developed
- Sep 24 Berlin election fuels fierce debate over housing expropriation and coalition prospects
- Oct 6 The party moved from campaign rhetoric to a detailed plan to expropriate apartments from eight major landlords.
- Oct 16 Johannes Winkel secured another term as chairman of the Junge Union, the youth wing of the CDU/CSU, and called for confidence despite recent electoral setbacks.
- Oct 18 The parties have moved from exploratory talks to formal coalition negotiations.
- Oct 19 Merz warned that deeper coalition concessions could jeopardise the CDU’s electoral prospects.
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