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Berlin Left faction moves to expel Vanessa Emde over Middle East conflict statements

15h ← 10d

Summary

  • Berlin's Left faction is moving to expel Vanessa Emde, who won a direct Neukölln mandate on 20 September with 46 percent of first votes, over her statements on the Middle East conflict.
  • Critics accuse Emde, among other things, of calling Israel's right to exist into question; party veteran Gregor Gysi accused her of antisemitism.
  • The faction executive board has decided to draft an expulsion motion, but it is far from certain that the required two-thirds majority of members exists.
  • Emde refuses to voluntarily give up her seat as the Left party leadership has demanded.
  • Berlin SPD leader Steffen Krach has made her exclusion from the faction a condition for a coalition with the Left, putting the projected Left-Green-SPD government under strain.
  • Emde belongs to the party's Palestine-solidarity current and is considered an opponent of its participation in government.

Reactions

  • Left party leader Luigi Pantisano defended the lengthy process, saying 'It simply takes as long as it takes' and that Germany is not an authoritarian regime.
  • Luigi Pantisano said it is nonetheless clear to him that Vanessa Emde disqualified herself with her conduct.
  • Bundestag member Katalin Gennburg called on Emde to give up her mandate, saying she crossed a line with her solidarity with Ibrahim Ibrahim.
  • In a commentary, journalist Daniel Bax called the dispute over Emde's faction seat a provincial farce and said the excitement around her bears features of a witch hunt.
  • SPD leader Steffen Krach demanded Emde's exclusion as a condition for a coalition; residents and Left voters in Neukölln took the dispute calmly, saying rents and local problems mattered more to them.
  • A forecast was reported that the dispute endangers government formation in Berlin and could burst the red-red-green plans there.

Timeline newest first

  1. The Left faction's executive board in the Berlin Abgeordnetenhaus decides to draft a motion to expel Vanessa Emde from the faction; two thirds of members would have to approve.
  2. Left party leader Luigi Pantisano defends the lengthy process over Vanessa Emde, saying all parties have fixed procedures; criticism of the delay grows louder.
  3. Berlin SPD leader Steffen Krach makes Vanessa Emde's exclusion from the Left faction a condition for a coalition with the Left party.
  4. Vanessa Emde distances herself in an Instagram video from a declaration she had signed with all Left faction members and demonstrates outside the Left party congress in Berlin.
  5. SPD leader Steffen Krach says on a talk show there will be no coalition with the Left if Vanessa Emde is part of the faction; he later softens the statement.
  6. The Left faction again declines to apply for Vanessa Emde's expulsion, leaving the decision to the party; the required two-thirds majority remains unclear.
  7. At the Left's Berlin state party conference, delegates vote with a large majority to enter coalition negotiations with the Greens and SPD; Vanessa Emde demonstrates outside with supporters.
  8. In the Berlin Abgeordnetenhaus election on 20 September 2026, Vanessa Emde wins the direct mandate in the Neukölln constituency with 46 percent of first votes.
  9. Bundestag member Katalin Gennburg calls on Vanessa Emde to give up her mandate, saying Emde refuses to distance herself from Ibrahim Ibrahim, who she says glorifies Hamas.
  10. The Left group in the Berlin state parliament postpones its decision on how to deal with its member Vanessa Emde.

Sources newest first

  • Debatte über Fraktionsausschluss: Linkenchef Pantisano verteidigt langwieriges Verfahren zu Vanessa Emdespiegel.de· 15h

    Der Spiegel reports on Berlin's Left faction move to expel Vanessa Emde, criticized over statements on the Middle East conflict and accused of antisemitism by Gregor Gysi, with a two-thirds majority needed and Emde refusing to give up her mandate. Left leader Luigi Pantisano defends the lengthy process: "It simply takes as long as it takes."

  • Die umstrittene Linken-Politikerin Vanessa Emde wird viel zu wichtig genommentaz.de· 4d

    A taz commentary by Daniel Bax argues Berlin's Left politician Vanessa Emde is taken far too seriously: he calls the question of her faction seat a provincial farce and the excitement around her a witch hunt, while Berlin's SPD leader Steffen Krach makes her exclusion a condition for a coalition.

  • Diskussion um Vanessa Emde: Neukölln nimmt es gelassentaz.de· 9d

    taz.de reports on the debate roiling Berlin's Left after Vanessa Emde, an opponent of government participation from the party's Palestine-solidarity current, won a direct Neukölln mandate with 46 percent — a fight that has put the projected Left–Green–SPD coalition on the brink, with SPD leader Steffen Krach ruling out a coalition that includes her. Yet on the streets of the Kiez, from Späti owner Şah Hüseyin to Left voters at the canal, residents take the dispute calmly, caring more about rents and local problems.

  • Linke fordert Rücktrit von Vanessa Emde: „Jetzt reicht’s!“taz.de· 10d

    In a taz interview, Die Linke Bundestag member Katalin Gennburg calls on Berlin politician Vanessa Emde to give up her mandate, saying Emde refuses to distance herself from Ibrahim Ibrahim, whom Gennburg says glorifies Hamas, and that clarity against the glorification of terror is needed. She says many members want the quarrels to end so the party can deliver its election promises, and a taz overview reports antisemitism has risen since 7 October 2023.

Background newest first

  • Germany's center is losing ground to the far right. Why is it fighting the left?haaretz.com· 6d

    Vera Weidenbach's November 8, 2026 Haaretz article examines Die Linke's rise in Berlin, where lead candidate Elif Eralp, slated to become the city's newest mayor, was revealed as saying she was 'afraid' of certain pro-Palestinian activists linked to her party after messages were accidentally shared with Der Spiegel. The article argues accusations of antisemitism and Die Linke's stance on Israel sit at the center of a wider struggle for power as the party seeks a governing coalition, while Germany's political center loses ground to the far right.

  • https://taz.detaz.de· 6d

    The front page of taz.de leads with a shooting in Kraków, where the alleged perpetrator first killed his parents and sister before firing from a car on the Großer Ring, with Polish police reporting six dead. It also reports the student list's election victory over Aleksandar Vučić in Serbia, Donald Trump replacing chief of staff Susie Wiles with Stephen Miller after the midterm debacle, and Berlin's Left Party pressing Emde to give up her mandate.