Red-Green-Red Coalition Talks Officially Begin in Berlin

The Left Party (Die Linke), Greens, and SPD opened formal coalition negotiations on Monday in Room 113 of Berlin's Abgeordnetenhaus. Left Party faction leader Elif Eralp was visibly enthusiastic, describing it as "a very joyful day," while Greens state leader Nina Stahr promised a government "for everyone in this city, whether they voted for us or not." SPD state chief Steffen Krach was notably more guarded — in a Monday newspaper interview he cautioned that "of course the talks could also fail," and his co-chair Bettina König similarly kept the outcome open.

The negotiations began against a backdrop of considerable SPD internal resistance. Several former senior SPD figures, including ex-Berlin governing mayors Michael Müller and Walter Momper, had already advised against a left-wing alliance. Germany's most popular politician, SPD Defence Minister, went further on Sunday evening, coming out publicly against the alliance on ZDF and backing a paper titled "Not at Any Price," which warns against a coalition with the Left Party and against Eralp as governing mayor. Bundestag member and former minister Karl Lauterbach and almost 1,200 further SPD members had also signed the paper by Monday midday. Former Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey — currently still serving as economics senator — is among the signatories and is cautiously backing a CDU-led "Kenya coalition" instead.

Budget pressures dominated the opening session: acting Finance Senator and CDU chief Stefan Evers has projected a shortfall of up to €5 billion. The three parties plan to establish 14 specialist working groups, set to convene from next Monday. The goal is to conclude negotiations before Christmas — roughly seven weeks away — though subsequent member votes and a Green Party delegate ballot mean the current black-red senate is likely to remain in office well into 2027.