The Left Party’s Berlin state association is facing mounting criticism following its victory in the Berlin House of Representatives election, with allegations involving contacts to a criminal clan and accusations of antisemitism. The CDU warned on Tuesday against a coalition government in Berlin led by the Left Party. Potential coalition partners SPD and Greens called for clarity over links to Berlin’s clan milieu and demanded a clear rejection of antisemitism. Meanwhile, Left Party Bundestag member Ferat Kocak, who has acknowledged contacts with the Berlin Remmo clan, is temporarily stepping back from his parliamentary functions.
The Left Party, led by top candidate Elif Eralp, clearly won Sunday’s election to the Berlin House of Representatives. On election night, it emerged that notorious clan leader Issa Remmo had attended the election party of the Left Party’s district association in Neukölln. A pro-Palestinian activist who has faced criticism over positions hostile to Israel was also present.
Parts of the Berlin Left Party have repeatedly faced accusations of antisemitism. Contacts with the criminal milieu have now also become an issue. Members of the Remmo clan have been accused of numerous crimes, including involvement in the theft of a 100-kilogram gold coin from Berlin’s Bode Museum and the break-in at Dresden’s Green Vault.
Kocak acknowledged having contacts with the Berlin Remmo clan. He exchanged messages with Remmo’s son Firas in chats. On the platform X, Kocak justified the contact by saying that he was in communication with “many people.” In one case, he said he had “politely returned a greeting” from Issa Remmo, but initially had “no knowledge” of who he was.
Kocak further stated that “contacts by elected representatives with people who are considered to be part of organised crime” were “in no way justifiable.” He said he wanted to ensure “full transparency.”
According to Left Party co-parliamentary group leader Sören Pellmann, Kocak will no longer appear in public for the time being, “until full transparency has been established.” He will also no longer participate in meetings of the Bundestag’s Interior Committee until further notice. Any further consequences will be discussed “together and in solidarity” afterwards, Pellmann said.
The Greens called on the Left Party in the Bundestag to expel Kocak from its parliamentary group. He repeatedly attracted attention through “a proximity to people who glorify terrorism, who question the State of Israel, who stand out through antisemitic incidents,” said Green parliamentary group co-leader Katharina Dröge. The Greens would now enter coalition talks with “red lines,” Dröge said. These included “clarity in the fight against antisemitism.”
CSU parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag Alexander Hoffmann called on the SPD and Greens to make clear “whether they really want to be willing accomplices for a left-wing extremist antisemitic fringe.”
CSU leader Markus Söder said in Kloster Banz that the Greens in particular should consider whether they “really want to form a coalition with a left-wing extremist group, an antisemitic one,” as he described parts of the Left Party. Söder also threatened to “reopen” the state capital agreement governing federal financial support for Berlin if the Berlin Left Party were to implement its plans to expropriate housing companies.
Sebastian Fiedler, domestic policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, suggested in Focus that a possible Left Party-led Berlin state government could be excluded from the joint information systems used by police and the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
A similar issue was also discussed following the AfD’s election victory in Saxony-Anhalt. Former SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel warned his party and the Greens in Berlin on ZDF against forming a coalition with the Left Party. Federal Education Minister Karin Prien (CDU) also firmly opposed the Left Party joining the Berlin government. Berlin must prevent a situation in which a left-wing mayor governs the city with a party “that has a really serious antisemitism problem,” Prien told broadcasters RTL and ntv.
Meanwhile, the Berlin Left Party rejected sharp accusations of antisemitism made by Israel’s ambassador Ron Prosor. “We stand unequivocally on the side of Jewish life in Berlin, which must be able to be lived safely, visibly and autonomously,” said Left Party state chairwoman Kerstin Wolter. Prosor had accused the Left Party of “completely unrestrained antisemitism.”
Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Israelite Religious Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria, described it as “disturbing” in Focus that a party had been given the mandate to govern in Berlin “that, through the fervent hatred of Israel within its ranks, repeatedly fuels antisemitism.”
From breaking news to thought-provoking opinion pieces, our newsletter keeps you informed & engaged.
By subscribing, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
