Berlin: Left Party, SPD and Greens resume talks – result expected by Sunday
After the Left Party group distanced itself from MP Emde, talks in Berlin are back on. Özdemir sees a radicalisation of Berlin's Left Party, while the Greens admit mistakes.
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In Berlin, the exploratory talks between the Left Party, the SPD and the Greens on forming a state government are continuing. According to Tagesspiegel, the talks resumed on Friday afternoon after the Left Party group's leadership declared that there was no longer a common working basis with Neukölln MP Vanessa Emde following her remarks on Israel. “The group leadership agrees that Ms Emde cannot speak publicly for the group in this situation,” the statement said. The group is to discuss next steps on Tuesday; an expulsion would require a two-thirds majority.
The SPD's Berlin co-chairs welcomed the Left Party's “clarification”. Berlin Greens leader Nina Stahr admitted mistakes in her party's communication: “The mistake was ours.” Baden-Württemberg's premier Cem Özdemir (Greens), by contrast, said Berlin's Left Party had become radicalised. Federal Left Party co-leader Ines Schwerdtner defended the state branch's handling of the case.
According to sources close to the negotiators, results are due by Sunday at the latest. The Greens plan to decide at a state party council on Monday evening whether to enter coalition negotiations. Political scientist Wolfgang Schroeder considers the outcome open, Tagesspiegel reports; a minority government or a so-called Kenya coalition are also conceivable.