Berlin's New Parliament Opens: Die Linke's Hendrikje Klein Elected as Speaker

Berlin's new Abgeordnetenhaus held its constitutive session on Thursday, formally opening the legislature in which Die Linke won 25.7 percent of the vote and 44 seats — the strongest faction in the chamber. The assembly elected Hendrikje Klein, a 46-year-old Die Linke politician, as Parlamentspräsidentin with 98 yes votes, 42 no votes, and 9 abstentions. In her inaugural address Klein invoked Willy Brandt, warned against discrimination, and said the parliament's most important asset was its credibility. CDU's Cornelia Seibeld was elected vice-president with 109 votes. The AfD's Martin Trefzer failed in the separate presidium election with only 40 votes — more than the AfD's seat count, prompting speculation about the source of the additional votes, though CDU's Stefan Evers cautioned against assuming they came from his party since the ballot was secret. The session was overshadowed by a Der Spiegel report revealing that Linke frontrunner Elif Eralp had privately expressed fears for her family's safety if she openly criticised Palestinian activist Ibrahim Ibrahim. Eralp addressed reporters briefly, calling the matter private while insisting she would not be intimidated. On Saturday — 1 November — a Die Linke special party conference will decide whether to open formal coalition talks with the SPD and Greens, though the Eralp affair has left a cloud over the anticipated Red-Green-Red government.