Regierungsbildung in Berlin: Berliner Linke fordert Mandatsverzicht von Emde

The governing coalition in Berlin is facing a challenge as the leftist party demands that Member of Parliament Vanessa Emde give up her mandate. Party chairwomen Kerstin Wolter and Maximilian Schirmer have called for Emde to withdraw her mandate due to her controversial positions on the Middle East conflict. They claim that she has repeatedly and deliberately disregarded their collective decisions.

Mandates are not individual, but rather achieved collectively through the work and votes of party members. If Emde does not return her mandate, she could be expelled from the leftist faction in the Berlin parliament. Emde has been a member of the parliament since September, having been elected with a first round result of 46.2 percent.

She now represents a direct mandate in her constituency in Neukölln. Emde has been criticized for her statements on the Middle East conflict, including accusations of questioning the existence of Israel. She protested against her own party leadership on the fringes of a leftist party conference over the weekend. The government formation efforts of the leftist party in Berlin have been hampered by these issues, with potential coalition partners Green and SPD expecting the party to address these problems, especially in Emde's case.

Emde initially signed a declaration on antisemitism at the party's constitutive meeting on October 13th, which confirmed the protection of Jewish life and Israel's existence. However, she later distanced herself from it on Instagram and reiterated her earlier statements, which denied the existence of states and only recognized the rights of people.

The governing faction expressed that they saw no common ground with Emde anymore. If the member does not return her mandate, exclusion from the faction could be the next step. Several leftist politicians have publicly supported this decision, requiring a two-thirds majority within the 44-member faction. After a fruitless conversation with Emde, the faction's leadership declared that further actions would depend on the party's committees.

Emde's behavior has also made headlines: at the fringe of a party conference where the left side agreed to begin coalition talks with the Greens and SPD, she protested alongside around 80 people from the left against the party's course. She explicitly expressed solidarity with a controversial pro-Palestinian activist, who had been photographed with her at a leftist constituency party where he had attended a meeting.

The party has set a deadline for Emde to distance herself from those who celebrate the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023 as legitimate resistance. She has one week to return, deleting her Instagram post and apologizing for her actions at the party conference, and promising constructive cooperation based on their decisions.

The leftist-Green-SPD agreement against antisemitism is expected to be included in the coalition agreement if a government is formed. The Green candidate Eralp aims to become Berlin's first female mayor. The left party won 25.7 percent in the recent election, followed by CDU (18.8 percent), AfD (16.3 percent), Green (14.3 percent) and SPD (12.1 percent). The previous ruling CDU/SPD coalition has lost its majority.