Overview
- On Thursday the three parties published a joint 'Berliner Vereinbarung' and formally began sondierungsgespräche to see if a coalition is possible after the September election.
- The agreement states that Israel's existence is 'unverhandelbar' and requires members of the Senate, factions and parties to take a public stance against antisemitism with party-led sanctions up to exclusion for violations.
- The parties pledged to strengthen the police and the Verfassungsschutz to better protect Jewish life in Berlin and agreed to name a three-expert panel to provide binding incident assessments for factions before sanctions are decided.
- The deal sets a clear distance from people linked to organised crime and commits to investigating 'belastbare Hinweise' about contacts such as those tied to the Rammo clan, leaving open how individual cases like MP Ferat Koçak will be resolved.
- The move prompted sharp criticism from opponents including CSU secretary-general Martin Huber, and a major unresolved point is which definition of antisemitism will guide the parties' actions, a dispute that could shape public trust and the next negotiation phase.