Overview
- Party leaders from Die Linke, the Greens and the SPD said they completed exploratory (Sondierungs) talks on Saturday, October 17, and scheduled a joint press statement at 17:00 in the Haus der Statistik to present the outcome.
- The three parties agreed to recommend that their internal bodies approve the start of formal coalition negotiations, with the Greens calling a small party congress early next week, the SPD’s Landesvorstand to decide after that, and Die Linke holding a party conference on October 31.
- As a condition for moving forward they negotiated a binding text on how to handle antisemitic incidents within the coalition that would be written into the coalition contract and include sanctions up to exclusion from the parliamentary group.
- Progress is uncertain because of internal disputes inside Die Linke over a signed declaration and the conduct of MP Vanessa Emde, which party leaders say could affect the party vote and the timing of formal talks.
- If all three parties approve, the planned rot‑rot‑grün coalition would command 91 seats in the Abgeordnetenhaus, giving it a comfortable majority and drawing national attention and criticism from figures such as Chancellor Friedrich Merz.