Berlin Left Party Coalition Talks Open Under Cloud After Candidate's Leaked Safety Fears

Berlin's efforts to form a new left-leaning government have been upended after the Left Party's candidate for governing mayor inadvertently disclosed that she and her husband feared for their safety because of individuals within her own party with alleged ties to Palestinian terrorist organizations.

Elif Eralp, Die Linke's candidate to lead Berlin, made the remarks in internal comments that were accidentally sent to German news magazine Der Spiegel during the post-editing of an interview. Last Wednesday, the magazine received an authorized version of a document containing the interview, which had been conducted on Monday morning, but the file had not been cleared of internal comments, deletions and annotations.

According to Der Spiegel's account of the document, Eralp wrote that she was afraid for herself and her family and that she and her husband were afraid of these people. "I can't put myself and my family in danger for Spiegel," she reportedly wrote.

The comments concerned questions about Ibrahim Ibrahim, a prolific figure in Berlin's radical pro-Palestinian activist circles who has described the chief planner of Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on Israel as a "martyr hero." Ibrahim attended a Die Linke election celebration in Berlin's Neukölln district following the September state election. He is considered a prominent propagandist within Germany's radical pro-Palestinian scene and is associated with the United Palestinian National Committee, or VPNK, an umbrella network bringing together supporters of Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Berlin's Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified the VPNK as an extremist organization, while German authorities classify the PFLP as a terrorist organization.

Eralp reportedly told Der Spiegel she had not previously been aware of the full extent of the problem involving Ibrahim. In the authorized version of the interview, both the question about him and her response had been removed. In an internal note explaining the decision, she reportedly wrote: "There is a problem, [my husband] does not want to give specific names and neither do I; he is afraid of these people and so am I." Another annotation referred to advice from security authorities not to publicly name individuals in connection with organized crime or extremist networks.

The revelation has intensified pressure on the planned coalition between Die Linke, the Social Democratic Party and the Greens. Representatives of the Christian Democratic Union called on the SPD and Greens to reconsider governing alongside Die Linke, questioning how Eralp could guarantee the security of Berlin's citizens if she herself is scared of individuals associated with extremist networks within her party. The head of Berlin's Neukölln district argued the episode shows how intensely supporters of antisemitic and terrorist organizations are connected to sections of Die Linke.

The controversy has also fueled dissent within the SPD. On Sunday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, an SPD politician, said he intended to use his influence within the party to try to prevent the Berlin coalition from going ahead. According to reports, around 1,175 SPD members have signed an appeal opposing a coalition with Die Linke "at any price." Despite the uproar, Die Linke voted overwhelmingly at a party conference on Saturday, October 31, to proceed, arguing its concerns can be addressed through the coalition agreement and its proposed security policies. The three parties officially opened negotiations on Monday, November 2, with talks expected to take several weeks.

Eralp has also faced threats and hostile messages amid the controversy. On Friday, German media reported that Berlin police had identified a concrete threat, and she received police protection for the party conference on Saturday. Berlin authorities typically reserve dedicated personal protection for the governing mayor and interior senator, but Eralp's security was arranged specifically for the party event following the reassessment. Berlin Interior Senator Iris Spranger of the SPD also pledged protection for Eralp and her family.

Eralp has defended her conduct, saying she takes the advice of security authorities seriously and must consider her family's safety. Rejecting suggestions that she would be cowed, she said: "I made it very clear. I will not let anyone intimidate me." She also pledged to act against organized crime, violence and organizations that glorify terrorism, insisting she would work to guarantee the safety of all Berliners.