Bodo Ramelow, the politician of the Left party and Deputy President of the Bundestag, has publicly criticized the massive internal protest against the exploratory agreement reached by the Berlin Left in cooperation with the Greens and the SPD. Speaking to Spiegel, Ramelow stated: “In Berlin, the Left has a clear mandate from the voters. It irritates me that Left Members of Parliament outside the state associations believe they have to hand out notes of criticism to the negotiators, and I consider this absolutely inappropriate.”
The former Minister President of Thuringia viewed the three-party preliminary deal as “a new chapter of German culture that builds trust-trust that has also been lost through the votes within his own party.” Ramelow further stressed his concern regarding the document’s contents, noting that if the Left promotes the one-state solution, “that implies the destruction of Israel and that is not acceptable.”
The preliminary agreement, signed by the Left, Greens, and SPD in Berlin on Thursday, paved the way for exploratory talks for a red-green-red coalition. The document confirmed Israel’s right to exist and outlined the agreed-upon approach to tackling antisemitism, detailing the consequences for potential future antisemitic incidents within the coalition factions.
However, the agreement immediately sparked strong resistance within the Left party. More than 120 politicians from the Left, including 17 Members of Parliament, released an open letter harshly criticizing both the agreement itself and its negotiating parties.
