Overview

• Ines Schwerdtner said an understanding from May obliges the Union to speak with Die Linke on future decisions requiring a two‑thirds majority, citing constitutional judge selections and debt‑brake questions.
• She described the May 6 negotiations as ad hoc and said CDU lawmakers pressed the Left for support to enable the second ballot that led to Friedrich Merz’s election.
• Persistent mistrust from parts of the Union continues, with CSU figures publicly disparaging Die Linke and blocking Heidi Reichinnek’s election to the Parliamentary Control Panel in June, leaving future coordination uncertain.
• Responding to reports about Hamas‑affiliated guests at a Berlin district event, Schwerdtner rejected any alignment with Hamas, said such cases are being reviewed, and pledged to pursue antisemitism in the party and society.
• She reiterated opposition to German weapons deliveries to Ukraine and Israel and argued for diplomacy as the path to peace, mentioning a potential role for the United Nations.