Overview

• Sebastian Schlüsselburg, a justice and budget expert, and Oliver Nöll, deputy mayor of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, have joined the Berlin SPD after leaving Die Linke.
• The two politicians left Die Linke in October 2024, criticizing the party's handling of antisemitism and its failure to take a clear stance against left-wing antisemitism.
• Schlüsselburg will now serve as a member of the SPD parliamentary group in the Berlin House of Representatives.
• Die Linke leadership has called for Schlüsselburg to relinquish his parliamentary mandate and has initiated steps to formally exclude him from their party group.
• The Berlin SPD is expected to officially announce the defections during a press conference scheduled for Wednesday morning.