Bavarian Premier Markus Söder has slammed the Left Party’s plans to socialize housing in Berlin and spoken of a “red front” in the German capital as a leftist coalition seems likely to take power there (see earlier entry in this blog).
Speaking at a gathering of the youth wing of Germany’s coalition alliance (JU) in Bonn, Söder said that “such absurd expropriation fantasies by socialists” had to be stopped.
He called on the government to quickly put in place a planned law against putting private property into public ownership.
Söder, who leads the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), the sister party to Chancellor Merz‘s Christian Democrats (CDU), even suggested that payments to Berlin under Germany’s financial redistribution scheme be cut if the Left Party plan is put into practice.
“The others [other federal states: Ed.] can have the money. But it is just not right that we even end up paying” for such things, he said.
Söder’s speech at the meeting followed one by the chancellor on SaturdayImage: Chris Emil Janßen/IMAGO
Allegations of antisemitism in Left Party
Söder also described an “antisemitism agreement” reached by the Left Party, the Greens and the Social Democrats (SPD) during exploratory negotiations as apparently “not worth the paper it is written on,” saying that the Left Party held stances that were unacceptable.
“Germany must not be identified with such forces in leading positions,” he said, saying “firewalls” like that against the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) were needed against the left as well.
He backed a resolution put forward by the JU that calls for any such leftist coalition in Berlin to be refused access to information from the BfV domestic intelligence agency and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).
Along with allegations of antisemitism, the Left Party has faced accusations of having links to clan criminality in the capital, leading some conservatives to suggest it might abuse such information.
Elif Eralp of the Left Party (C.) could become governing mayor of BerlinImage: Fabian Sommer/dpa/picture alliance
Pre-coalition agreements
During exploratory coalition talks, the three left-leaning parties agreed to socialize properties belonging to real-estate companies possessing more than 10,000 apartments.
Under the agreement, a fund of up to €16 billion ($17.98 billion) is to be prepared to pay out compensation for the expropriations.
Before the exploratory talks even began, the three parties reacted to accusations of antisemitism levelled at the Left Party with an agreement in which Israel’s right to exist was enshrined as “non-negotiable.”
The agreement also foresees penalties for party members who do not act in accordance with this stipulation.
The Left Party emerged as the strongest force from September 20 elections in the city-state of Berlin, with its lead candidate Elif Eralp well set to become the governing mayor.