Emde, Abed and Marg | The left jumps over every stick - and still loses

Vanessa Emde (2nd from left) with other participants at a rally under the motto “Elected for Palestine, betrayed for the Senate!”. The Left should take the criticism of its members seriously. Photo: dpa/Sven Kaeuler The Berlin Left called on Vanessa Emde to return her mandate on Friday. If she refuses, she will be expelled from the group. The chairmen Kerstin Wolter and Maximilian Schirmer had previously demanded that she “distance herself from those who celebrate October 7th as legitimate resistance.” Emde was directly elected in Neukölln with 46.2 percent - obviously not despite, but because of her politics.

An unprecedented campaign is underway in several major media outlets against left-wing elected officials. One wonders, for example, what drives a deputy department head at the “Tagesspiegel” to fire off a new scandal almost every day, sometimes as a free rider, sometimes with his own “research”. Accusations of anti-Semitism, “clan contacts” and alleged disagreements are brought together to form an overall picture that is intended to fundamentally question the party’s ability to govern. This has nothing to do with journalism anymore.

Last week the “Spiegel” followed suit. Regarding an interview with Elif Eralp, which was primarily about alleged anti-Semitism, the paper made a comment the mayoral candidate accidentally left in the release document the subject of its own article. The fact that a possible ruler expresses fear of a criminal phenomenon is newsworthy. But it is campaign journalism to stylize a woman who internally admits to being afraid as a threat to democracy.

In the national media, the “Welt” in particular is drumming up against The Left. Your interview on Saturday with SPD top candidate Steffen Krach also revolved almost entirely around general allegations of anti-Semitism and Eralp's alleged lack of distance from organized crime. There was no mention of Krach and two other SPD politicians themselves being investigated on suspicion of corruption - although the authorities announced the day before that they were suspending the investigation for the time being because of his immunity. Not remarkable for the “world”.

The anti-left campaign will not end with Emde's exclusion. Neukölln mayoral candidate Ahmed Abed, who is accused of having represented initiatives from the BDS environment as a lawyer, is already on the launching pad. In addition, the new MP Katharina Marg is now affected. She was a “parliamentary observer” at the hearing on the deportation of two men from a Palestinian family to Greece. Mind you: Two left-wing politicians are being demonized here because they stand up for democratic rights.

Headlines like “Does the Berlin Left have a case of ‘Vanessa Emde 2.0’?” can only be prevented if the party declares solidarity with everyone who criticizes Israel because its government continues to violate international and human rights and has announced it and is waging several wars against its neighbors. The party leadership must be clear: no matter how many steps it jumps over, the Left will ultimately lose due to its increasing spinelessness.

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