Pistorius joins 700+ SPD members opposing Berlin coalition with the Left

The open letter and its signatories

Former SPD chairman Sigmar Gabriel, former health minister Karl Lauterbach and Berlin economy senator Franziska Giffey have signed 'Nicht um jeden Preis' ('Not at any price'), an open letter that casts doubt on the Berlin Left's ability to govern. The signature count rose through Sunday. Early that morning WELT counted 489 party members on the initiative's website and Focus counted 493, while DW and Spiegel reported more than 700 by Sunday evening. N-tv put the figure at around 300, a number the other outlets did not match. The list also includes former federal ministers Christine Lambrecht and Ulla Schmidt, ten Bundestag members according to WELT, and Brandenburg Social Democrats such as former economy minister Albrecht Gerber. The signatories say they respect the Berlin election result but seriously doubt that the Left's state association can run a government.

Pistorius breaks ranks

Defence minister Boris Pistorius, whom Spiegel describes as the most popular SPD federal politician in polls, says he will sign the letter too. Speaking on the ZDF programme 'Berlin direkt', he said he would hold talks at several levels, including with party colleagues in the capital.

“We will certainly talk to everyone at all levels, but not in front of the cameras.”

The decision on any coalition rests with the Berlin SPD state association, but Pistorius personally argues against continuing on the path with the Left. He warned that the SPD would lose trust if it stayed on its current course and called the Berlin Left unclear and diffuse on key issues. Pistorius also said the party holds differing positions on antisemitism and criticised the Left's relationship with security authorities and criminal clans.

Antisemitism and clan allegations

The letter cites a series of antisemitism incidents and says the Berlin Left has not distanced itself sufficiently from anti-Israeli and antisemitic views. It singles out Ferat Koçak, a Left Bundestag member from Berlin-Neukölln, whose chats with a convicted son of a clan leader became public. In those chats Koçak asked that one of his Bundestag speeches be shared through the clan member's social media channels. The authors also say clan members attended the Left's election-day party, and argue that such contacts undermine the state's monopoly on violence and are incompatible with the SPD's security policy aims. The Left leadership distanced itself from the episode, yet Koçak kept his Bundestag seat and remains in the party's Bundestag group. On antisemitism the letter insists that any coalition partner must reject it, even when it disguises itself as criticism of Israel.

Eralp and the talks ahead

Elif Eralp, the Left's lead candidate, could become Berlin's first governing mayor from her party. The letter rejects her for that role, arguing that given the special status of the office, a governing mayor who draws conclusions from her fear of Islamist structures in the city is unacceptable. She had acknowledged to Spiegel that she no longer felt safe given such structures. Spiegel also reported internal notes in which Eralp wrote that she and her husband were afraid of the people concerned. At the Left's party conference on Saturday, 31 October, she answered the doubts about her suitability.

“I will not give up.”

Coalition talks between SPD, Greens and Left are due to begin on Monday, 2 November, and the three parties want a new government for the capital before the end of the year. The Left won 25.7% in the House of Representatives election on 20 September, against 12.1% for the SPD.

Die Linke25.7%

SPD12.1%

Die Linke

25.7 %

SPD

12.1 %

Data from the article text

The letter also points to the 2027 state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Bremen, Schleswig-Holstein and Saarland, and fears consequences for the SPD there. It praises the coalition in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and says that a Kenya coalition of CDU, SPD and Greens would have a majority in Berlin on paper.