Berlin coalition talks suspended over antisemitism deal concerns

BERLIN, Oct 13 - Germany's Greens and centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) suspended exploratory talks on forming Berlin's next state government with the far-left Left Party on Tuesday to assess whether antisemitism measures agreed to last week still stand.

• The proposed measures would allow lawmakers accused of antisemitism to be expelled if a panel came to a consensus on the matter. If they disagreed, experts would be called in.

• The decision comes after the Left admitted lawmaker Vanessa Emde, who has sparked controversy over her stance on Israel, as part of the state of Berlin's new parliamentary group.

• "We expect the Left to clarify the extent to which they intend to take the agreements we made seriously and implement them," the two parties said in a joint statement after the Left held a constituent meeting.

• The Left, a hard-left party represented in Berlin by lead candidate Elif Eralp, emerged from the September 20 state election as the largest force, with 25.7% of the votes.

• Left leader Luigi Pantisano said he was confident that talks could continue, adding that all elected representatives had signed a declaration committing themselves to the fight against antisemitism at their meeting on Tuesday.

• Tensions over antisemitism and the Israel-Gaza conflict have become a major fault line in German politics, with the SPD and Greens insisting on binding safeguards before entering exploratory coalition talks with the Left. REUTERS