1,600 SPD Members Sign Open Letter Against Left-Party Coalition in Berlin

An open letter titled "Not at Any Price" gathered more than 1,600 signatures from SPD members opposed to Berlin's emerging red-green-red coalition. High-profile signatories include Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, former party chair Sigmar Gabriel, former Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, and former Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey. The letter raises concern about antisemitism within Die Linke and argues that Elif Eralp has a "massive conflict of interest" because she reportedly avoids publicly naming a Palestinian activist linked by the Verfassungsschutz to the PFLP terror organisation. Eralp says she is following security-authority advice not to name specific individuals. Concerns about ties to clan criminality in the letter are directed at the Berliner Linke broadly, not at Eralp personally; DL21 co-chair Erik von Malottki explicitly stated she is not close to any criminal organisations. Despite its prominent signatories, the 1,600 names represent less than 0.5 percent of the SPD's national membership of 348,451. Berlin's local chapter of 17,673 members will ultimately decide through a binding ballot. Bundestagsmember Ralf Stegner called the public letter "highly unsolidaric" for undermining ongoing negotiations, even while sharing concerns about antisemitism. Party leader Lars Klingbeil has not publicly commented, reportedly conscious of his own leadership re-election at the Bremen party congress in January.