Berlin Greens and SPD Vote for Red-Green-Red Coalition Talks with Die Linke

Five weeks after Berlin's state election of 20 September 2026, in which Die Linke won 25.7% of the vote and became the strongest party, the other two prospective coalition partners formalised their desire to govern together. On the evening of 19–20 October, Berlin's Greens held a small party congress at which 43 of 45 delegates supported entering coalition negotiations; only 2 voted against. The SPD state board convened digitally and approved the move with 26 votes in favour and 3 against. The three parties had published a joint exploration paper titled 'Mehr gemeinsam, mehr Berlin', which included plans to socialise the housing stock of large landlords owning more than 10,000 apartments, with compensation capped at €16 billion. All parties also committed to a Berlin Declaration on protection of Jewish life. Die Linke, citing the two-week autumn school holidays, postponed its binding party congress vote to 31 October. If approved, formal coalition negotiations would begin in early November. Left faction leader Elif Eralp would be in line to become Berlin's first governing mayor from her party. On 23 October, the Tagesspiegel's morning Checkpoint column reflected on the semantic games surrounding whether informal pre-talks yet constitute official 'soundings', as SPD chair Steffen Krach described the options as 'limited'. The potential red-green-red coalition would hold 91 seats — 14 above an absolute majority.