Germany news: Left-leaning Berlin coalition talks break down

The breakdown in the exploratory talks can be traced back to concerns about the often highly critical stance on Israel adopted by some members of the Left Party, coupled with criticism of the appearance of a figure linked to organized crime at an election night party. 

The Left scored well with parts of Berlin’s population, not least the young and communities with more people of migrant backgrounds, with an unusually stern line on Israeli wars in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East by the often muted standards of German politics. 

But comments from its more outspoken members and controversies like an organized crime boss attending an election-night after-party led to questions — particularly in some newspapers and from the conservative Christian Democrats — about whether center-left parties could work under the Left’s leadership. 

In a bid to settle this, the Greens, SPD and Left drafted a joint statement on antisemitism, Israel’s right to exist and maintaining a distance from organized crime before starting their talks. 

But the text subsequently faced criticism from within the Left’s own ranks. 

On Tuesday, as 44 Left Party members of the new Berlin parliament met, they instead signed off on a different text more closely aligned to the party’s past internal position papers. 

“We stand by Israel’s right to exist and for equal rights for all people in Israel. Equally we stand by Palestine’s right to exist and for equal rights for all people in Palestine,” the Left Party’s text read. 

Among other things, this omits a reference in the joint text to Israel’s right to exist being “non-negotiable,” and to listing potential sanctions for transgressions potentially extending as far as being ejected from the party. 

The CDU — which emerged as the second-largest party in the vote, well adrift of the Left on 18.8% — argue that the SPD and Greens should negotiate a coalition government with them instead. 

Chancellor Merz had also weighed into the discussion, saying that the allegations of impropriety facing the Left Party cannot be “dismissed with a piece of paper.” In the meantime, the party’s state lawmakers appear to have disavowed that piece of paper anyway.