Berlin's next Senate: Jarasch and Graf may miss out, taz reports
Left, Greens and SPD are already weighing Senate posts. According to taz, a Greens commission will decide, and former senator Bettina Jarasch is unlikely to return.
Symbolic image · Photo: Michielverbeek / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Berlin's Left Party, Greens and Social Democrats are still preparing for coalition talks, but jockeying over seats in the next Senate has already begun. Former Greens lead candidate and ex-senator Bettina Jarasch is unlikely to return to the state government, the daily taz reported Thursday evening. A four-member commission is to decide on the Greens' Senate posts, and the party's lead candidate Werner Graf could also be left out, the paper said.
Among the Social Democrats, Interior Senator Iris Spranger wants to keep her job, with former parliamentary group leader Raed Saleh seen as a possible rival for the post, according to the report. Franziska Giffey is unlikely to be part of the new Senate. The Left could take the urban development portfolio with Wenke Christoph and is also eyeing justice and finance, taz reported. How the posts will be divided remains open.
Left Party leader Elif Eralp aims to conclude a coalition agreement by the end of the year. That requires a Left Party convention on Oct. 31 to approve formal coalition negotiations. The new Senate could take office in January 2027, according to the report.