Berlin Coalition Talks Continue as Left, Greens and SPD Meet Again

Coalition talks between Die Linke, the Greens and the SPD moved into their second round in Berlin on Wednesday, 4 November. The three parties' senior leadership body, the so-called Dachgruppe, convened at 11 a.m. — just two days after the opening session on Monday. The meeting focused on the schedule for the weeks ahead and on organisational matters. Fourteen specialised working groups, covering specific policy areas, are expected to begin meeting no later than the following Monday. How long the full negotiations will take remains open.

The road to these talks was set by the Berlin Abgeordnetenhaus election on 20 September, in which Die Linke came first with 25.7 percent of the vote. The CDU followed with 18.8 percent, the AfD with 16.3 percent, the Greens with 14.3 percent and the SPD with 12.1 percent. The outgoing CDU/SPD coalition lost its majority in that vote. Should the three-way negotiations succeed, Die Linke faction leader Elif Eralp would be in line to become Berlin's first Governing Mayor from her party.