Overview
- The Linke voted on Friday to mandate its leadership to invite the Greens and the SPD to sondierungsgespräche, and the party said talks could begin next week to test whether coalition negotiations are possible.
- The Linke reaffirmed its pledge to pursue a law based on the Deutsche Wohnen & Co enteignen draft to bring roughly 220,000 apartments into public hands, a plan that makes compensation levels and financing central and contested issues.
- Constitutional experts and the Berlin public audit office warn the expropriation plan faces strict proportionality limits and large cost uncertainty, and most observers expect immediate legal challenges that could reach the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe.
- Accusations of antisemitism and documented contacts between some Linke figures and clan-associated individuals have damaged trust with potential partners, and Bundestag MP Ferat Koçak has temporarily stepped back from his public duties in response.
- The Greens signalled readiness to enter sondierungen but will hold a party-wide member consultation before any coalition decision while the SPD remains cautious, making political trust-building and clear answers on law, compensation and funding the decisive hurdles.