The Berlin Left votes to start coalition negotiations with the Greens and the SPD

In Berlin, after the Greens and the SPD, the Left has now also spoken out in favor of coalition negotiations. A clear majority voted in favor of it at a party conference. The talks can take place six weeks after the election

After election in Berlin Left votes for red-green-red coalition talks As of: October 31, 2026 • 5:39 p.m

Six weeks after the election in Berlin, the way is clear for red-green-red coalition negotiations: after the Greens and the SPD, a party conference of the Left now also voted in favor. The talks are scheduled to begin on Monday.

The Berlin Left has voted to start coalition negotiations with the Greens and the SPD. At a state party conference there was broad approval among delegates, with a few votes against and abstentions.

The Greens and SPD had already decided on this the previous week. The coalition talks are scheduled to begin on Monday.

The Berlin Left will decide today whether to start coalition negotiations with the SPD and the Greens. more

The planned three-way alliance in the capital under the leadership of the Left has been causing controversy nationwide for weeks. Left parliamentary group leader Elif Eralp emphasized at the party conference her will to become the governing mayor of her party in Berlin despite all resistance. "We will not let ourselves be defeated. And I will not give up," she said.

Even Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) is trying to "blackmail" the exploratory partners the Greens and SPD so that there is no red-green-red government in Berlin, Eralp continued, but the left will survive this "wave of attacks." “The people of this city elected us to make change, and we will make it happen.”

Berlin Left votes for coalition negotiations with Greens and SPD, Andreas König, ARD Berlin tagesschau, Das Erste, October 31, 2026 • 5:00 p.m. Socialization in the exploratory paper In the House of Representatives election on September 20th, the Left became the strongest force with 25.7 percent. This is followed by the CDU (18.8 percent), AfD (16.3 percent), the Greens (14.3 percent) and the SPD (12.1 percent). The previously ruling CDU/SPD coalition has lost its majority.

The basis for the red-green-red coalition negotiations is an exploratory paper presented by the three parties two weeks ago. The most controversial thing nationwide is probably the plan to socialize around 160,000 apartments owned by five corporations. Such a transfer into public ownership in return for compensation, which is provided for in the Basic Law, would be unique in Germany to date.

Business associations are campaigning against the plans. The black-red federal government wants to stop them with a new law.

The formation of a government in Berlin is once again overshadowed by a debate about the Left Party. more

The previous process of forming a government was complicated by a debate about consistent action against anti-Semitism. The trigger was several incidents in the ranks of the left.

Even before their explorations began, the Left, the Greens and the SPD had agreed on a joint declaration on anti-Semitism, Israel's right to exist and the protection of Jewish life. It should be included in the coalition agreement. Sanctions up to and including exclusion from the parliamentary group are envisaged for violations of the agreed principles.