Berlin: Social Democrats and Greens halt coalition talks with Left Party over lawmaker
Berlin's Left Party caucus has admitted Vanessa Emde, a lawmaker criticized over remarks on Israel. The Social Democrats and Greens have paused talks and are demanding clarity.
Symbolic image · Photo: DanielMurray502 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Exploratory talks on a left-wing coalition in Berlin have been put on hold. The Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens suspended talks with the Left Party on Tuesday evening after its new caucus admitted Neukölln lawmaker Vanessa Emde at its first session. It initially remained unclear whether her admission was the sole reason for the pause.
"We have taken note that the Left Party has reached other arrangements within its caucus," Greens politician Werner Graf and SPD state leader Steffen Krach said in a joint statement. The talks were therefore being paused. Only the previous week, the three parties had agreed to formal talks, on condition of a common line on tackling antisemitism. Emde has faced criticism over past remarks, including: "There is no right of existence for states – people have a right to exist."
Of the caucus's 45 members, 44 including Emde signed a declaration affirming Israel's right to exist and calling Hamas an antisemitic, Islamist terrorist organization. The Left Party, Greens and SPD would hold 91 of the 153 seats in the new state parliament. Whether and when talks will resume is unclear.