Berlin's Left party delays congress on three-party coalition to Oct. 31
Exploratory talks with the Greens and SPD are not finished, so Berlin's Left party will decide on coalition negotiations two weeks later than planned. Its new parliamentary group meets Tuesday.
Archive image · Photo: Ferran Cornellà / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Berlin's Left party has postponed a state party congress planned for Friday, Oct. 16, to Oct. 31. Delegates are to vote on the exploratory paper with the Greens and the Social Democrats (SPD) and decide whether to open coalition negotiations. "The reason is the ongoing exploratory talks," state party manager Bjoern Tielebein wrote to members, according to Der Tagesspiegel.
Party rules require the final paper to reach delegates 72 hours before a congress, a deadline that would have expired Tuesday evening. "Because of the autumn school holidays, we have decided to hold the congress only on Oct. 31," Tielebein said. Berlin's school break runs Oct. 19–31. The Greens are keeping their Friday congress, provided a deal is reached by then.
The Left's new group in the Berlin state parliament meets for the first time on Tuesday. Exploratory talks with the Greens and SPD are set to continue until the party congress.