Krach demands Koçak's expulsion from the Left faction

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Krach demands Koçak's expulsion from the Left faction.

Steffen Krach is making himself crystal clear. The Berlin SPD state chairman is demanding the expulsion of Left Party Bundestag MP Ferat Koçak from his own faction – right in the middle of ongoing exploratory talks for a Berlin coalition of SPD, Greens, and Left Party. According to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa), Krach says: "My clear expectation of the faction chair is that the Left faction act now." With that, the SPD is turning a personnel question inside the Left Party's Bundestag faction into a litmus test for trust – before the exploratory talks have even properly begun on substance.

What are the allegations against Koçak?

The backdrop is a chat affair. Left Party politician Ferat Koçak is alleged to have exchanged chat messages with Firas Rammo and then played dumb. Rammo is associated with organized crime circles. The consequence within the Left Party: Koçak gave up his seat on the Bundestag's Interior Committee – but according to Der Spiegel, he was allowed to keep his spokesperson role.

Left Party politician Ferat Koçak exchanged chat messages with Firas Rammo and then played dumb. He gives up his seat on the Interior Committee, but his faction refuses to drop him…

Krach draws the line

Pressure on the Left faction is mounting. According to dpa, Krach is demanding "clear consequences" for Koçak. The Berlin Left Party chairwoman appears to share this direction: according to dpa, she says "the process is not yet finished."

My clear expectation of the faction chair is that the Left faction act now.

The Greens already wanted this in September

The SPD is not alone in this demand. As early as September 22, Green faction chief Katharina Dröge suggested to Left faction chair Heidi Reichinnek that Koçak be removed from the faction. Little has happened since: the Left faction has so far not managed to bring itself to an expulsion.

What SPD, Greens, and Left Party have already agreed on

The demand is not coming out of nowhere. As a precondition for their exploratory talks on forming a government in Berlin, the Left Party, Greens, and SPD have agreed to strictly avoid contacts with organized crime and to sanction violations. The agreement is addressed to members of the Senate as well as to mandate holders of the factions – which fits cases like Koçak's remarkably well.

As a precondition for exploratory talks on forming a government in Berlin, the Left Party, Greens, and SPD have agreed to strictly avoid contacts with organized crime and to sanction violations.

What this means for the exploratory talks

The SPD, Greens, and Left Party are in the exploratory phase in Berlin, as the Berliner Morgenpost reports. With the public demand from the SPD leadership, the Koçak affair has now fully arrived in the ongoing negotiations. Whether the Left Party now acts on the pressure or sits it out will become the first litmus test for a possible three-way coalition – before talks even get to substance.

Anyone watching the exploratory talks can see: the Koçak question does not decide on policy, but on the minimum level of trust that the SPD and Greens extend to the Left Party. Only after that will what shapes Berlin in the coming years become negotiable.