Wolfgang Thierse, the former President of the Bundestag, has advised his own Social Democratic Party (SPD) against forming a coalition with the Left Party. Speaking to the Tagesspiegel, Thierse stated that his advice was clear: “I can only advise my party not to enter into a coalition led by the Left.” While acknowledging the Berlin Left candidate Elif Eralp as “not unsympathetic,” he insisted that this was in no way sufficient reason to elect her as the Governing Mayor.
The former Bundestag president heavily criticized the Left Party’s suitability for governance in the German capital. According to Thierse, bringing a party into a leadership role in Berlin that is unable to address antisemitism within its own ranks is “irresponsible.” He deemed it “practically adventurous” to see the Left Party maintaining “contacts with the clan milieu” while simultaneously seeking to weaken both the police and the federal protection services.
In addition to these warnings, Thierse voiced strong opposition to plans involving the expropriation of residential property. Drawing on his experience living in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), he offered his assessment of housing nationalization and collectivization. “I cannot recommend going down this path,” he said. “I simply do not believe that state-owned housing helps prevent housing shortages and the soaring costs of rent.” Recalling the situation in the GDR, Thierse noted that homes and apartments were both nationalized and state-managed, a result that “everyone could see by 1989.”
