Pressure within the SPD is mounting on Berlin party leader Steffen Krach to abandon plans for a coalition with Die Linke in the German capital. Federal Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, a former political associate of Krach from their time in Lower Saxony, is now the initiative’s most prominent supporter.
The grassroots campaign, titled “Not at any price,” has attracted almost 1,200 SPD members since the weekend. Its supporters argue that the Berlin branch of Die Linke may not be capable of governing.
The statement signed by the members says they have “serious doubts” about whether Die Linke’s Berlin organisation is fit to take on government responsibility. Pistorius’s backing increases the pressure on Krach as the party considers a possible red-green-red coalition in the capital.
Sources: Süddeutsche Zeitung.