A growing dissent within the Social Democratic Party (SPD) has emerged in response to the possibility of a black-red coalition with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) under the leadership of Friedrich Merz. “I consider it pure madness to elect Merz as Chancellor” said Jan Dieren, the chairman of the left-wing faction in the SPD, in an interview with the Tagesspiegel.
Dieren criticized Merz for his willingness to cooperate with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the Bundestag, describing him as “unpredictable.” He warned that in coalition negotiations, Merz would likely be “pressuring” his potential coalition partners, either by demanding their agreement or by working with the AfD to achieve his goals. “We would have to expect every day that he would replace his potential coalition partner with the AfD” Dieren said.
Other SPD members, such as Erik von Malottki, a Bundestag representative, also expressed their reservations. “I can’t currently imagine any cooperation with this Merz-CDU” he told the newspaper.
Leni Breymaier, another SPD Bundestag representative, was more direct in her criticism. “I get a choking sensation when I think about a grand coalition with Merz as Chancellor” she said in an interview with the Tagesspiegel. While she refused to rule out formal cooperation with the CDU after the election, she emphasized that the SPD would not collaborate with far-right groups. “What the SPD will always rule out is cooperation with fascists” she said.
Annika Klose, a Berlin-based SPD Bundestag representative, also refused to completely rule out the possibility of a coalition with the CDU, leaving the door open for further discussions.
The SPD has a history of participating in grand coalitions, having governed alongside the CDU from 2005 to 2013 and again from 2018 to 2021 under the leadership of Angela Merkel. In the past, the party’s leaders have taken a more rigid stance against cooperation with the CDU, as exemplified by Martin Schulz’s refusal to form a coalition in 2017. However, after the failure of the Jamaica coalition talks, the SPD shifted its stance and eventually formed a third CDU/CSU-SPD coalition with Merkel in 2018.