Overview
- Negotiations between the Left, Greens and SPD in Berlin are continuing but unsettled as negotiators still aim for an end‑of‑January vote to elect Elif Eralp as Governing Mayor.
- An open letter signed by more than 2,300 SPD members has publicly opposed an SPD–Linke coalition, saying the Berlin Linke is not governable because of alleged antisemitic incidents and problematic contacts.
- Elif Eralp used a Nov. 12 plenary speech to promise firmer action against antisemitism and to make Jewish life in Berlin more visible, citing the party's five‑point plan and recent attacks on Jewish people.
- The Linke parliamentary leadership has announced a developing motion to exclude MP Vanessa Emde over her Israel‑related remarks, a move negotiators say is part of internal disciplinary steps but that also raises doubts about party cohesion.
- Longer term tensions include a big rise in antisemitic incidents in Berlin (RIAS recorded 2,197 cases in 2025) and a split inside the Linke between a new activist wing and an older state‑oriented wing, which helps explain why talks in Berlin are harder than in other states and could reshape coalition choices and Berlin's reputation.