Berlin: Left, Greens and SPD talk under time pressure – final result due today
By Friday the Left, Greens and SPD want to decide whether to open coalition negotiations. Finances and expropriation are the biggest hurdles. On Monday the returning officer presents the official final result.
Graphic: TERRA WORLD NEWS (own graphic based on the sources listed)
The Left, the Greens and the SPD continue exploratory talks on a red-green-red alliance in Berlin this week. Ideally by Friday, the last school day before the autumn holidays, it should be clear whether coalition negotiations will begin, dpa reports. After agreeing on a joint approach against antisemitism, the talks now turn to rent policy, housing construction, climate and transport. The Left's goal of socialising large housing companies is seen as the biggest sticking point. With multi-billion holes looming in the state budget, it is also considered unlikely that all of the Left's election promises can be financed.
On Monday morning, state returning officer Stephan Bröchler is due to present the final result of the 20 September election to the House of Representatives, which fixes the distribution of seats. On Tuesday the Left's parliamentary group meets, where the antisemitism agreement is likely to come up again. In an open letter, around 120 Left officials criticised the paper. Left Bundestag members Bodo Ramelow and Dietmar Bartsch, by contrast, explicitly back joining the government. Economy senator Franziska Giffey (SPD) considers a coalition with the Left "not justifiable".