Preliminary talks to form a government: put off for the last time

The Left Party, the Greens and the SPD missed perhaps the last day of late summer to announce the status of their discussions on the issue of anti-Semitism or even a decision. When the 14 negotiators left the House of Statistics in Mitte shortly before half past five on Wednesday evening, the Green parliamentary group leader Bettina Jarasch simply said: "It will continue tomorrow. We are now going to the memorial event."

The Left, the Greens and the SPD had to hurry up. At least in order to arrive at the Memorial Church in time for the interreligious commemoration in honor of the victims of the Hamas massacre on October 7th. However, there could be no question of rushing into the third round of preliminary discussions.

At 11:30 a.m. the five negotiators from the Left Party arrived at the House of Statistics. The Greens and the SPD had already been waiting for them. The top candidates from the three parties had previously visited a memorial installation by the Jewish Student Union of Germany at the Brandenburg Gate. Instead of the five hours in the first two rounds last Thursday and Saturday, there were now six.

Apparently the offer that the left-wing faction made at its meeting on Tuesday was not sufficient enough for the SPD and the Greens. By changing the parliamentary group's statutes, the 45 members of the new group will be obliged to comply with party decisions.

This, as it is formally called, mandate holder agreement includes a commitment against anti-Semitism and a ban on cooperation with people and organizations that are close to Hamas. Anyone who does not adhere to this could be expelled from the parliamentary group following the change in the statutes.

According to negotiators, it was purely a coincidence that the third round of preliminary talks would take place on October 7, the third day of the Hamas massacre in Israel. Or was it a lack of sensitivity? It would not have been easy to announce an agreement on such a symbolically charged date. The accusation could quickly have arisen that the three parties of the left-wing alliance were using the memory of the victims to put themselves in the right light.

Even more so, the news of failure could have fallen back on those who announced it. On the anniversary of an attack in which 1,200 Jews were brutally slaughtered and 250 were kidnapped, failing to find an agreement on how to deal with hatred of Jews and/or political proximity to Islamists in the future would have been a resounding outcome.

So now Thursday, the first day on which autumn is supposed to really arrive in the city. With wind, rain and a drop in temperature of six degrees. It is said that a press conference will be held later in the day. And also that it could be announced at this meeting that there has been an agreement.

If that were true, not only would the weather not be a friend of a possible left-wing alliance. Its beginning would be anything but magical. And what would happen next would still be an open question. Four appointments alone for preliminary discussions, which are intended to show whether you are starting to explore things, is not exactly a sign of mutual trust. And there are other big issues waiting in the explorations that haven't even been drilled into yet: socialization, police, budget situation.

Even a coalition agreement that could follow the coalition negotiations that follow the explorations would still have a question mark: the Left and the Greens will let their base decide whether there will be a left-wing alliance in the end or not.

It could be that the first snow will already be there.