Left-wing Berlin mayor candidate’s private Hamas remarks complicate coalition talks – POLITICO

BERLIN — Berlin mayoral candidate Elif Eralp is facing accusations of hypocrisy from political opponents after private remarks about “people with connections to Hamas” raised questions about her party’s approach to policing and the Middle East conflict.

The controversy risks complicating efforts by Eralp’s Left Party to form a coalition with the Social Democrats and Greens after winning the Sept. 20 Berlin election. The far-left party’s pro-Palestinian stance helped mobilize voters, but Jewish organizations have accused it of antisemitism. The party denies this.

The remarks appeared in internal comments accidentally included when Eralp’s office returned an annotated transcript of an interview to Der Spiegel, as per customary German journalistic practice.