Overview
- The Berlin branch of Die Linke voted overwhelmingly at a special congress on Saturday, Oct. 31, to begin formal coalition negotiations with the Greens and the SPD.
- Negotiators from the three parties were invited to start talks the following Monday with the aim of producing a deal that each party’s membership will vote on by December.
- Spitzenkandidatin Elif Eralp, who has received police protection after leaked internal notes raised security and antisemitism questions, pledged to combat antisemitism, racism and organised crime while defending her readiness to govern.
- The joint sondierungspapier proposes using Article 15‑style measures to transfer roughly 160,000 apartments from five large landlords into public ownership, a legally novel plan that critics say will prompt court battles and federal pushback.
- Visible dissent inside the Linke and a high‑profile SPD open letter signed by figures including Karl Lauterbach signal membership votes and national political fallout could still block a left‑led Berlin government.