The Union has heavily criticized the tentative agreement reached between The Left, the SPD, and the Greens to define a course of action against antisemitism. Berlins Justice Senator Felor Badenberg (CDU) argued to the broadcaster “Welt” on Thursday that simply establishing an expert body to review specific cases is insufficient. She suggested that a more proactive step would be for the negotiating parties to agree beforehand on excluding antisemitic members within The Left through official party disciplinary procedures.
Badenberg also pointed out what she perceived as contradictory positions among the potential coalition partners regarding internal security policies. She noted that The Left clearly advocates for abolishing the state counter-intelligence service and shrinking the police force. Conversely, the top candidate for the SPD intends to reinforce both the counter-intelligence service and the police in the fight against antisemitism. She questioned how these divergent stances could possibly be reconciled.
Furthermore, Badenberg raised unresolved questions concerning organized crime. While the Berlin SPD maintains its commitment to strengthening the fight against organized crime, there exists a documented instance of a member of The Left, who was reportedly in contact with a major figure within the Berlin organized crime clans. She expressed confusion as to how this inconsistency could be resolved.
Johannes Volkmann, a CDU foreign policy expert and grandson of former Chancellor Helmut Kohl, warned that if the SPD and the Greens were to coalition with a party that he described as deeply entangled in antisemitism, political Islam, and gang crime in Berlin, they would be undermining a fundamental consensus of German politics. Speaking to the “Tagesspiegel,” he stated that this partnership would be the first time that “convicted radicals are being offered access to power at the state level.” He added that this situation poses a particular threat to Jewish life and the enforcement of the rule of law. Volkmann expressed regret regarding the SPD’s willingness to engage in such a partnership, particularly given the SPD’s historical connection to figures like Ernst Reuter and Willy Brandt.
Volkmann indirectly signaled support for a three-party coalition involving the CDU, Greens, and SPD in Berlin. He argued that individuals who align with extremists merely to achieve personal political gains, despite available alternatives, are carelessly supplying arguments to those who advocate for using restrictive measures as tools to shift political majorities to the left.
From another angle, Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder (CSU) dismissed the impending cooperation, calling it a scandal that the SPD and the Greens were considering working with a party that, in his view, “clearly discusses and tolerates antisemitism within its ranks.” Söder generally expressed his outrage over the manner in which the issue was being handled, asserting that the debate regarding antisemitism in The Left should not be concluded with a formulaic compromise.
Compounding the criticism, CSU faction leader Klaus Holetschek challenged the federal financial agreements for the capital city. Holetschek argued that if a party fails to eliminate antisemitism or is merely proposing superficial action plans and working groups, they effectively disqualify themselves in his view. He insisted that if certain issues like this remain unresolved, the conditions for the city’s funding contracts, which include discretionary decisions on cultural funding and concert hall support, must be re-examined.
