Is Israel dividing Berlin's Left Party? | DW News

Berlin's Left Party, Die Linke, won the most votes in the September election, promising cheaper rents and housing reforms. Now, it hopes to govern Germany's capital — potentially creating its own Zohran Mamdani moment.
But internal tensions over Israel, Gaza and antisemitism are threatening to complicate coalition talks.
At the centre is Vanessa Emde, a newly elected politician whose statements on Israel's right to exist have sparked controversy.
She has also been photographed alongside Ibrahim Ibrahim, a pro-Palestinian activist whom German domestic intelligence authorities link to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), an organisation designated as terrorist by the EU and the US.
Emde rejects accusations of antisemitism, but her own party leadership is now seeking to expel her from its parliamentary group.
But there's a catch: Political parties can expel lawmakers from their parliamentary groups, or even from the party itself — but they generally cannot take away their elected seats. So even if Emde is expelled, she would remain in Berlin's parliament.
And the divisions within Die Linke wouldn't necessarily disappear. If enough lawmakers refuse to back a coalition, the Left could struggle to secure the votes it needs to take power.
With its potential coalition partners – the Social Democrats (SPD) and the Greens – demanding action, can Berlin's Left overcome its divisions and form a government?
Or could internal infighting cost it the chance to govern?

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