Party leaders allege breach of agreement
The leadership accuses Emde of violating an agreement she signed as a condition of joining the Linke parliamentary group, according to NZZ. Known as the Mandatsträgervereinbarung, it requires lawmakers to uphold the party's principles, including its commitment to Israel's right to exist.
Emde won her seat directly in Neukölln 1 in the September 20, 2026, election for Berlin's state parliament, the Abgeordnetenhaus. She received 46.2 percent of first votes, setting a record for the constituency, according to NZZ, Tagesspiegel and wa.de.
Disputed appearances
Tagesspiegel reported that Emde brought activist Hannah Bruns to a Linke parliamentary group meeting on November 3. Bruns has become a problem for the party over numerous statements considered antisemitic, and a request to expel her had been pending for nearly six weeks. Emde reportedly described her as a member of her campaign team.
Emde also joined a protest outside the party's special congress in Berlin-Lichtenberg as delegates voted to open coalition negotiations, NZZ reported. The rally was titled "Gewählt für Palästina, verraten für den Senat." In a brief speech, she expressed solidarity with Ibrahim Ibrahim, an activist in circles supporting the Palestinian terrorist organization PFLP.
SPD sets conditions for a coalition
The dispute has become an obstacle to a planned coalition between the Linke, the Greens and the Social Democrats. Berlin SPD leader Steffen Krach has made Emde's exclusion a condition of an alliance, according to wa.de. He said he could not recommend joining a coalition while she remained in the Linke parliamentary group.
SPD federal co-leader and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil has also given the Berlin Linke until the end of coalition negotiations to resolve its personnel problem. Bild reported the ultimatum, as cited by wa.de: Without a resolution, the planned alliance would not happen. Speaking at the SPD economic forum, Klingbeil demanded the removal from party structures of forces he described as antisemitic and people linked to clans.
The coalition talks follow an election in which the Linke finished first with 25.7 percent of the vote. The CDU received 18.8 percent, the AfD 16.3 percent, the Greens 14.3 percent and the SPD 12.1 percent, wa.de reported. The incumbent CDU-SPD coalition lost its majority.
NZZ reported on November 6 that Emde's departure from parliament would remove another obstacle to forming a Linke-Greens-SPD government under Linke lead candidate Elif Eralp.
