Berlin: SPD leadership moves toward member vote on Left-Green coalition
The Berlin SPD's executive committee wants members to vote on a coalition agreement with the Left and the Greens. The full state board is due to make the final decision this week.
Symbolic image · Photo: Berlinautor / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
The executive committee of the Social Democrats in Berlin has unanimously decided to ask party members to vote on a possible coalition agreement with the Left Party and the Greens, a party spokesman confirmed. The final decision rests with the full state board, which is due to hold a special session later this week; its approval is considered very likely. No dates for the vote itself have been announced.
The Left also plans a member vote with a binding result. The Greens want a digital poll of members on the agreement and their nominees for the city government, followed by a final decision at a delegates' assembly. In the Sept. 20 election, the Left came first with 25.7%, ahead of the CDU (18.8%), the AfD (16.3%), the Greens (14.3%) and the SPD (12.1%), its worst result ever. Exploratory talks ended in agreement, including on socialising large housing companies; the Left's party conference is set for Oct. 31.