The Berlin Left party has greenlit the possibility of entering into coalition negotiations with the Greens and the SPD. A large majority of delegates supported the initiation of discussions at an extraordinary state party conference held on Saturday.
Prior to this vote, the Linke’s top candidate, Elif Eralp, advocated for these negotiations. In her statements, she called the exploratory document a demonstration of “a clear left-wing handprint,” emphasizing the Linke’s goal to place people, rather than profit, at the center of politics. Eralp further stated that the party intends to “pull every lever to make Berlin affordable again.”
She remarked that it would be a “historic” move to use Article 15 of the Basic Law for the first time – an article that allows for socialization (nationalization) – “to finally end the business of real estate conglomerates and a few extremely wealthy individuals with our homes.”
Eralp also criticized what she termed a “wave of attacks” against her and the Linke, describing these attacks as having a “destructive dimension” and having “lost all sense.” At the same time, she took responsibility for the party’s own perceived shortcomings, which she warned must not be allowed to continue.
More recently, a “Spiegel” report caused a stir, alleging that Eralp feared for her family’s safety and had been advised by the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) to “never name concrete individuals.” However, the magazine later clarified that the Berlin LKA had received no indications of concrete danger to Eralp. According to the report, she had not been consulted about specific people, but rather given standard, general instructions to minimize risk, which is typical for high-profile politicians.
Meanwhile, the SPD and the Greens had already agreed the previous week to begin coalition talks. Before this agreement, the three parties presented a joint exploratory document to form the basis of the negotiations. Key points agreed upon in that document included the socialization of major housing corporations, the expansion of bicycle paths, and a more affordable public transport ticket.
