The head of Germany's Central Council of Jews on Sunday voiced opposition to a Left Party-led government in Berlin and urged other parties not to open state government coalition talks with the socialist election winner.
Josef Schuster said he was concerned about the Left Party's solidarity with pro-Palestinian demonstrators protesting the Israeli government. He accused the party of antisemitic statements—claims its officials have repeatedly and firmly denied.
"During the election campaign, the Left Party repeatedly crossed the line with antisemitic remarks," Schuster claimed. Entering a Left Party-led coalition, he argued, would mean promoting the "ongoing normalization of hatred against Jews."
Left Party lead candidate Elif Eralp voiced support during the campaign for Berlin's Palestinian community and sharply condemned the war crimes in Gaza of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. She pledged that a Left Party-led state government would end repressive police measures against peaceful pro-Palestinian protests in the capital.
In the face of the accusations, Eralp said party leaders had distanced themselves from a handful of isolated incidents. She added that the Left Party opposes all forms of racism and noted that during her career she has been involved in projects combating antisemitism.
"It is absolutely clear that we stand for the protection of Jewish life," she said in a recent TV debate with her rival. "Just as we stand for the protection of Muslim and Palestinian life."
Germany's socialist Left Party looked on track Sunday for a historic first-place finish in Berlin's state election, with Eralp hailing a result that could make her the capital's first governing mayor from a migrant background.
German public broadcaster ARD's latest projection put the Left Party at 25.3% — more than double its 12.2% result in the 2023 election — and more than six points ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU at 19%.
The anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) followed at 16.3%, the Greens at 14.4% and the SPD at 12.1%.
Despite its clear lead, the Left Party remained far from an absolute majority and would need at least two partners to govern. After a campaign that called for a change of course and rejected CDU policy, the most viable path was a three-party coalition with the SPD and the Greens.
Coalition math remained fluid before preliminary official results. Whether the left-populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) stays above the 5% threshold would still reshape the seat distribution. In the latest projection, it stood at 4.8%.
If the Left Party cannot reach an agreement with the SPD and the Greens, the second-place CDU could try a coalition with those two parties. The three would have enough seats if the BSW fails to enter the Berlin state parliament.
