Berlin Left party congress debates coalition as Emde protests outside
Berlin's Left party is debating whether to open coalition talks with the SPD and Greens. Lawmaker Vanessa Emde protested outside. If approved, negotiations are due to start Monday.
Archive image · Photo: Sandro Halank / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Berlin's Left party has been debating since Saturday morning at a special congress at the Dong Xuan Center in Lichtenberg whether to open coalition negotiations with the Social Democrats and the Greens. No result had been announced by 2 p.m.; a clear majority is expected. If delegates approve, three-way talks are due to begin on Monday, dpa reported. The SPD and Greens agreed last week.
Directly elected lawmaker Vanessa Emde, with whom the Left's parliamentary group says it no longer has a common working basis, protested outside the hall against the exploratory agreement, the Berliner Zeitung reported. The protesters' criticism focuses mainly on the planned coalition's Middle East policy.
Lead candidate Elif Eralp urged support, asking critics: "Do we really want to leave our wonderful and diverse city to the CDU?"