Overview
- The Berlin Linke voted on Saturday to begin formal coalition negotiations with the SPD and Greens, and the parties have scheduled talks to start on Monday.
- Linke leader Elif Eralp gave a public pledge to fight antisemitism, racism and organized crime and is receiving police protection after a Spiegel disclosure about her private safety concerns.
- Prominent SPD figures launched an open letter called "Nicht um jeden Preis" that questions the Linke’s governability, citing past antisemitism incidents, alleged contacts between some Linke politicians and clan milieus, and the Spiegel reporting.
- A central policy dispute is the Sondierungspapier’s proposal to use Article 15 to transfer about 160,000 flats from five large owners into public hands, a move that has prompted legal, economic and federal pushback.
- What to watch next: negotiators must produce clear anti-antisemitism safeguards and security rules, decide on the housing plan’s scope and timetable, and manage political fallout that could reshape SPD fortunes beyond Berlin.