SPD adopts sharp tone in new policy paper, focuses on cost of living after state elections

Following electoral defeats and declining approval ratings, Chancellor Friedrich Merz faces unprecedented pressure. Criticism is also growing within the CDU, particularly from Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia.

Chancellor Merz intends to advance legislation for a ban on expropriation following the Left Party's election victory. In one polling station located in a mosque, the AfD received the most votes. The SPD has set a new policy focus. More in the live ticker below.

Live Updates: Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Elections

12:20 PM – Tuesday, September 22 – SPD to Focus on Cost of Living

The SPD plans to shift its focus to the affordability of living. "For years, prices have been rising in our country," states a policy paper from the SPD Presidium. "We are therefore placing the issue of living costs at the center of our politics." The Presidium's proposals include a fuel price cap and relief on nursing care costs.

The paper emphasizes that the SPD remains committed to the governing coalition. "However, a simple 'business as usual' cannot continue after the state elections." Germany needs change, the paper argues, but such change must be fair and bring real improvements for citizens.

"We have no illusions: savings will be necessary in the future given tight budgets, but that does not make them reforms." The SPD Presidium endorses the proposals of the government-appointed pension commission, calling them "the foundation for a genuine reform of the statutory pension insurance."

Amid discussions about pension eligibility after 45 years of contributions without deductions, the Presidium makes clear: "The lifetime achievement of long-term contributors must continue to make a difference." The inclusion of politicians, self-employed individuals, and civil servants in the statutory pension system is also deemed "of particular importance."

1:17 PM – Tuesday, September 22 – Berlin Left Party Invites Greens and SPD to "Preliminary Talks"

The Left Party aims to move swiftly on government formation in Berlin following its victory in the state parliament election. To prepare for exploratory talks, the party has invited representatives from the SPD and Greens to "preliminary talks" this week, according to state party leaders Kerstin Wolter and Maximilian Schirmer. No specific dates or other details were provided.

1:04 PM – Tuesday, September 22 – Cem Özdemir Warns Against Coalition with Left Party

Baden-Württemberg's Minister President Cem Özdemir has warned his party against forming a coalition with the Left Party unless it clearly distances itself from antisemitism. "Anyone who is not clear on these issues must not be allowed anywhere near power in Germany," the Green politician said in Stuttgart.

Özdemir stated he expects the Berlin Left Party to renounce antisemitism with more than just pious words. His benchmark is that the Jewish community accepts the party's stance. "That also means, if necessary, that they have to expel people."

12:52 PM – Tuesday, September 22 – German-Israeli Society: Berlin Left Party Must Not "Come to Power"

The German-Israeli Society of Berlin-Brandenburg has warned against a state government led by the Left Party. Chairwoman Cerstin Richter-Kotowski stated that the Greens and SPD now face a decision between a coalition led by the Left Party or one led by the CDU. "From the perspective of Jews in Berlin," there is only one answer: "This Left Party must not come to power in Berlin."

12:18 PM – Tuesday, September 22 – Dos Santos: Chancellor Has "Full Backing of the Union Faction" Despite Frustration

At the Union faction's meeting following recent electoral defeats, Parliamentary Secretary Catarina Dos Santos-Wintz expects a lively discussion with Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) on Tuesday. "Of course there is frustration," Dos Santos-Wintz said in Berlin. "Of course the mood in the faction reflects the poor election results." However, she noted that all members of parliament are aware of their responsibility. In her perception, Merz has "the full backing of the Union faction."

11:59 AM – Tuesday, September 22 – Final Result of Saxony-Anhalt State Election Confirmed

The State Electoral Committee has confirmed the final result of the Saxony-Anhalt state election held on September 6. "The preliminary result from election night and the final result we have adopted today differ only in very minor areas," said State Returning Officer Christa Dieckmann in Magdeburg. The seat distribution remains unchanged, and percentage figures show no significant variations.

10:14 AM – Tuesday, September 22 – AfD Becomes Strongest Force in Mosque Polling Station

Polling station 504 in the Pankow district of Heinersdorf received international media coverage ahead of the Berlin state parliament election, including from Reuters and Al Jazeera. The reason: the polling station was set up in the community room of the Khadija Mosque. According to published results, the AfD performed particularly strongly there, receiving 34.4 percent of the second votes. The Left Party achieved 19 percent.

Imam Scharjil Khalid told the Berliner Morgenpost: "At first, it feels a bit as if our years of neighborhood work haven't reached some people. At the same time, it would be too simplistic to automatically infer a person's attitude toward Muslims or our mosque from an election decision. People vote for parties for very different reasons."

9:58 AM – Tuesday, September 22 – Greens Demand Consequences from Left Party

Leading Greens are calling on the Left Party to separate itself from antisemites within its ranks, according to Der Spiegel. Bundestag Vice President Omid Nouripour reportedly stated that there must be no coalition involving antisemites. "There can also be no government that is in any way dependent on antisemites, criminals, or terror supporters, or that was elected with their votes."

Berlin Green MEP Sergey Lagodinsky also demands that the Left Party affirm Israel's right to exist. "The Left Party must also address the anti-Zionism within its own ranks," the European Green said.

Deputy Chairman of the Greens parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Andreas Audretsch, sharply criticized the Left Party's connection to clan chief Issa Remmo. That must have "consequences," Audretsch said. "It frightens people in this city."

7:36 AM – Tuesday, September 22 – "No Chancellor Has Ever Abandoned People as Brazenly as Merz"

The Left Party has responded with sharp criticism to Chancellor Merz's announced legislative plans for a ban on expropriation of housing companies. Parliamentary group leader Sören Pellmann told the Rheinische Post: "No chancellor has ever represented the interests of rent profiteers as brazenly as Merz and abandoned people in their housing and rent distress." The chancellor, he said, is "coldly stabbing tenants in Germany in the back."

5:13 AM – Tuesday, September 22 – Israel's Ambassador Sees Antisemitism in Left Party as "Deeply Rooted"

Israel's Ambassador Ron Prosor views the Left Party's election victory in Berlin as an "immediate existential threat" to the Jewish community in the capital. "The strong performance of the Left Party in the Berlin election must worry anyone who cares about the continued existence of Jewish life in this city," Prosor told the German Press Agency. "The completely uninhibited antisemitism that has broken through in this party takes on a new political dimension with its rise to the strongest force." For the Jewish community in Berlin, this turns a theoretical threat into "a concrete and immediate existential danger."

Prosor said this is not a matter of isolated incidents but a system. "Again and again, new red lines are crossed." The ambassador accused the Left Party of, among other things, recently showing open proximity to clan criminals and "terror glorifiers." "This is no longer a fringe phenomenon, but a deeply rooted and far-reaching antisemitism problem."

The ambassador called on the Left Party to present a concrete plan "for how it will stop the systematic hatred of Israel and Jews within its own ranks and combat it at its root." The "time of empty promises" must finally be over after election Sunday. "What matters now are only concrete measures and verifiable results."

With material from dpa, AFP, AP, Reuters