Krach says Emde's place in Left caucus could block Berlin coalition
Pressed by Markus Lanz, Berlin's SPD co-chair rules out working with Emde but stops short of an unequivocal demand for her expulsion from the party.
GermanyStory of Why this story? One of ZDFheute Nachrichten's most watched videos since yesterday, with 221,165 views.
ZDFheute Nachrichten: The news division of ZDF, a German public broadcaster. 1.9M subscribers and 2B views.
Berliner Regierungsbildung: Wird Emde zur Koalitionsfrage? | Markus Lanz vom 28. Oktober 2026
Things we can learn from the video
Press to jump
- 0:33Krach says CDU candidate Stefan Evers did not invite him to exploratory coalition talks.
- 6:17Myrrhe describes changes within the Left Party and the dispute surrounding Emde.
- 9:09An Instagram clip shows Emde defending her statements and refusing to withdraw them.
- 15:20Krach rules out working with Emde and says her remaining in the caucus would probably prevent a coalition.
- 21:30Krach says the exploratory agreement largely reflects SPD policy and excludes radical Left Party demands.
- 24:41Müller questions whether securing a governing majority is taking precedence over clear opposition to antisemitism.
Steffen Krach says his Social Democrats will not work with Emde, the Left Party lawmaker at the center of a dispute over antisemitism. If she remains in the parliamentary group, he says, Berlin's proposed coalition will probably not happen.
That qualified answer comes after repeated questioning in an October 28 episode of Markus Lanz, published by Germany's ZDFheute Nachrichten, the news service of public broadcaster ZDF (Second German Television). The discussion concerns Berlin's state government, not Germany's federal coalition.
Krach, the Berlin SPD's co-chair, wants formal coalition negotiations following exploratory talks with the Left Party and the Greens. But Lanz presses him on whether removing Emde is an indispensable condition for an agreement. Krach initially points to the negotiating partners' written commitments against antisemitism and says the Left Party's parliamentary leadership must take responsibility. Eventually, he says the SPD will not cooperate with her and that her continued presence would probably prevent a coalition. That leaves a distinction between excluding her from the parliamentary group and expelling her from the party itself.
The program shows an Instagram clip in which Emde argues that people, rather than states, have a right to exist and refuses to withdraw her statements. Journalist Anke Myrrhe, deputy editor-in-chief of Berlin's Tagesspiegel newspaper, describes internal changes and departures within the Left Party. CDU politician Karin Prien warns of what she calls the normalization of antisemitism on the left. Educator Silke Müller argues that denying Israel's right to exist is antisemitic and questions whether political principles are being weakened to secure power.
A second question runs through the exchange: why not negotiate with the center-right Christian Democratic Union instead? Krach says CDU lead candidate Stefan Evers never invited him to exploratory talks. Prien challenges the direction of the negotiations, while Myrrhe argues that discussions with the CDU should also have been explored.
Lanz also confronts Krach with his pre-election warning against voting for the Left Party. Krach defends the proposed partnership by pointing to the election result and the exploratory agreement: in his assessment, almost all of it matches existing SPD policy, while radical Left Party demands have been removed.
German politician who has co-chaired the SPD in Berlin since May 2026. He was the party’s lead candidate in the 2026 Berlin state election.
More on Wikipedia ›Germany’s major centre-left party, formally the Social Democratic Party (SPD). It is the junior partner in the federal coalition government led by Friedrich Merz.
More on Wikipedia ›German democratic socialist party, also called Die Linke. It was formed in 2007 through a merger of two parties.
More on Wikipedia ›The Christian Democratic Union is Germany’s main centre-right party. Its federal leader, Friedrich Merz, has been German chancellor since May 2025.
More on Wikipedia ›CDU politician and lawyer who has served as Germany’s federal minister for education, family affairs, senior citizens, women and youth since 2025.
More on Wikipedia ›CDU politician serving as Berlin’s deputy governing mayor and finance senator since 2023. He has also held the culture and social cohesion portfolio since 2026.
More on Wikipedia ›Published on Trari
Where next?
- Channel
- ZDFheute Nachrichten
- Subscribers
- 1,890,000
- Channel views, pace per day
- 2,057,058 (on a normal day: 1,122,099)
- Video published
- October 29, 2026
- Video views so far
- 221,165 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 239,815
The numbers
The discussion drew about 221,000 views since yesterday, making it one of Germany's most watched new news videos over that period.
💡 Test your knowledge
What does the German party abbreviation SPD stand for in English?
SPD is the abbreviation for Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, the Social Democratic Party of Germany.