Berlin's Left Faction Smaller Than Expected: Youngest MP Asya Senyüz Not Admitted

Die Linke emerged from Berlin's recent state election as the strongest party, but its parliamentary faction is shaping up to be smaller than expected: Asya Senyüz, described as Berlin's youngest newly elected member of the Abgeordnetenhaus, will not be part of the faction. The news adds another layer of complexity to what has already been a turbulent start to coalition negotiations. Separately, the party continues to grapple with the contentious case of lawmaker Vanessa Emde. Exploratory talks with the Greens and the SPD twice came close to collapse over Emde, and as of Tuesday the faction leadership reported there was still no common working basis with her — a final decision on her status remained pending. The faction held a session with Emde and her situation was to be further discussed by the executive board. Despite the internal tensions, Eralp said she expects approval for formal coalition negotiations to go ahead. A preliminary exploratory paper has been drawn up to serve as the basis for those talks, though the coalition partners' plans for the socialisation of housing companies remain a point of dispute. The CDU/CSU meanwhile threatened constitutional legal action against Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt over the socialisation proposals, with Dobrindt planning legislative hurdles. Berlin parties are reportedly calculating with around 16 billion euros in compensation costs.