Preliminary explorations in Berlin: The Left wants to accommodate the SPD and the Greens

The left-wing faction in the House of Representatives wants to take a stronger position against anti-Semitism. This is provided for by the group's changed statutes, which were presented to the 45 MPs on Tuesday. The SPD and the Greens had previously called for a “mechanism” from the Left Party that could be used in the event of possible anti-Semitic statements.

In the new parliamentary group statutes, compliance with the elected representatives agreement should become binding for the MPs. This agreement states that all members of the party adhere to the party decisions of the Left Party. This includes taking a stand against anti-Semitism and banning cooperation with people and organizations close to Hamas.

However, it remains unclear whether such an agreement can actually be binding for the members of the group. According to the House of Representatives, MPs are not bound by instructions, but are only “subject to their conscience”. There is therefore no imperative mandate in the Berlin state parliament.

MPs who have won a direct mandate in their constituencies are also likely to argue that they are less committed to party discipline than to their voters. Of the 45 members of the Left Party, 28 won their constituency.

Among them are Vanessa Emde (Neukölln) and Martha Kleedörfer (center), who belong to the LAG Palestine Solidarity. In Neukölln alone, three candidates from the Left Party won a direct mandate. Most recently, activists and cultural workers declared their solidarity with the Neukölln district association of the Left and spoke of “sometimes excessive and defamatory” allegations of anti-Semitism against the party.

Nevertheless, the state and parliamentary group leadership of the Left hopes that the agreement will create an opportunity to exclude individual members from the parliamentary group in an emergency. A vote on the proposal from parliamentary group leaders Elif Eralp and Tobias Schulze is scheduled to take place next week.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the third anniversary of the Hamas massacre in Israel, the final and decisive round of talks in the preliminary explorations for a possible left-wing alliance is scheduled to take place. Most recently, the Left, the Greens and the SPD declared in identical statements on Saturday that they had “agreed on a further common path”. At the meeting on Wednesday, it was said, “we will bring the current discussions to a conclusion”.

It remains to be seen whether a resolution to commit to the left-wing party resolutions of the SPD and the Greens will be enough. So far, little has been made public from the discussions at the House of Statistics. However, it is important for the SPD and the Greens, they say, to find a regulation that applies over the entire five-year electoral period.

If the talks on Wednesday are successful, the explorations can begin. Then it comes to the equally controversial topics of socialization, police and the protection of the constitution as well as the tense financial situation in the state of Berlin.

A personnel change that the Left also formally decided on Tuesday is unlikely to be problematic. The group will propose Hendrikje Klein as its candidate for the election of Parliament Speaker. Nothing should stand in the way of your election at the inaugural meeting of the House of Representatives on October 29th.