Discussion about Vanessa Emde: Neukölln takes it calmly

When Şah Hüseyin talks about politics, his voice gets louder. On this November morning, the Späti owner is standing in his shop in the middle of Neukölln, somewhere between Sonnenallee and Weserstraße, with shelves full of cigarettes, tobacco and vapes behind him. Can he understand that the coalition negotiations in Berlin may fail because of the dispute over Palestine solidarity and the treatment of MP Vanessa Emde?

“Politicians have to take care of the problems of the people here in Berlin!” shouts Şah Hüseyin. The Middle East conflict will not be solved in Berlin; international cooperation is needed. “Please don’t misunderstand me, I feel for the people of Palestine in my heart,” he says. "But here in Berlin we have a lot of unemployment and everything is becoming more expensive. These are local problems!"

Şah Hüseyin, in his mid-50s, has been running his late-night shop here in the neighborhood for more than 30 years. He doesn't want to read his full name in the newspaper for fear of alienating his regular customers. Because everyone comes to him: Palestinian young people who call on him to boycott Coca-Cola because of the company's Israel business, but also the older, unemployed neighbor who voted for the AfD.

It is the neighborhood in which left-wing politician Vanessa Emde clearly won the direct mandate in the election to the House of Representatives on September 20th. Emde received 46 percent of the first votes in the constituency, which stretches in a narrow strip between Sonnenallee and Landwehrkanal from Treptow to Hermannplatz.

Since then, the previously relatively unknown Emde has been at the center of an ongoing debate about the Left's ability to govern. Emde is considered an opponent of her party's participation in government and belongs to the activist Palestinian solidarity movement. Emde herself does a lot to keep the excitement surrounding her high. On Tuesday, for example, she appeared at the parliamentary group meeting accompanied by the activist Hannah Bruns, who is currently being expelled from the party. The accusation: a lack of differentiation from Hamas' terror.

The group leadership has been saying for weeks that they see “no common working basis” with Emde. However, the board has not yet requested an exclusion. It is unclear whether there would be the two-thirds majority required for this. But the pressure is growing. For example, SPD leader Steffen Krach said in a talk show last week that there would be no coalition with the Left if Emde was part of the parliamentary group.

Later he backtracked a bit. Nevertheless, it seems as if the government project of the Left, the Greens and the SPD is on the brink because of Emde's uncompromising course against her own party - and because the other parties, the media and federal politicians have been declaring how this one MP is being treated as the crucial question for weeks.

But what do the people in her Neukölln constituency say about it, who may have even voted for her? Do you support Emde's stance or do you want compromises, including on the issue of raison d'état, so that the Left can keep its election promises - such as the socialization of large housing companies?

The taz meets Greta* on the Landwehr Canal, not far from Şah Hüseyins Späti. The young woman spends her morning here on the bank, the weather is chilly, the leaves of the surrounding trees are floating in the water. Greta says she voted for the left. But she hardly noticed the current debate about Emde.

“It is difficult for the SPD to put a gun on the left, so to speak,” says Greta, and says: “Emde has a valid point when she stands up for Palestine.” But she herself voted for the left mainly because of the rent policy – ​​“and because it does the most for young people”. In any case, she voted for the party to govern. "Why else? It's worth a try!"

Another left-wing voter that the taz met on Weserstrasse also said he didn't know that much about the problem with Vanessa Emde. “I have to read up on it first.” What was his motivation for voting for the left? “Of course, so that they can change something!”

The party now wants this officially. At the state party conference on Saturday, the delegates voted with a large majority in favor of starting coalition negotiations. Emde demonstrated with supporters outside the door. “Elected for Palestine. Betrayed for the Senate,” is the motto of the government opponents.

Şah Hüseyin im Späti sees everything a little more calmly. “It’s clear that the left got so many votes here in our neighborhood because they are for Palestine.” However, Emde should exercise restraint in day-to-day political business: "If I have problems at home, I have to solve them at home too. If I bring in problems from outside that I can't solve, nothing will change. Then there will be a standstill."

But the Middle East conflict is not an “outside problem” for everyone. For example for Tareq*. The young man is standing at the coffee stand at the market on Hermannplatz. He warms his hands on the paper cups, it smells of broiler and börek, and the traffic is roaring all around him. Tareq comes from Libya and was not allowed to vote.

Tareq is pretty angry: at Germany, at Berlin. He had been to demonstrations for Gaza a few times. “You can’t even say, ‘From the river to the sea’ anymore,” he complains. That's why he thinks it's good that the Left was the only major party to stand up for the rights of Palestinians in the election campaign. But Europe, especially Germany, is firmly on Israel's side. "The left won't change that. Still: Free Palestine!" he shouts.

The attitude of solidarity with Palestine in parts of the left has become the core brand of the party. But the people the taz speaks to don't actually see a strict either/or, as is currently the case in the tussle over Emde - either compromises or no government, either Emde out or no socialization.

Not even Olivia, who is standing in front of the Ankerklause, next door to the busy weekly market on Maybachufer. She can understand Emde's attitude: "It's difficult to have to subordinate your own opinion to the party," she says. But at the price of big election promises? “Phew, that’s the worst dilemma.”

And so the situation remains in limbo for the time being. After the group again did not request exclusion on Tuesday, it is now the party's turn. Emde could be asked to return her mandate. Whether she will allow that to happen given her outstanding election results is unlikely.

Meanwhile, life goes on in Emde's constituency in Neukölln. Şah Hüseyin welcomes the next customer. But he still wants to get rid of one thing, he says in his loud voice. "I'm proud of Elif Eralp. She's so strong, she's really achieved something. We men should keep our hands off politics."