Germany’s top court has ordered Economy Minister Katherina Reiche to remove an Instagram video from her ministry’s official account in which she accused the Left Party of openly embracing antisemitism.
The Federal Constitutional Court said in an interim order published on Thursday that sharing such claims from an official government account may violate the socialist Left Party’s right to equal participation in political competition.
“This is particularly relevant given the ongoing discussions regarding the formation of a government in the city-state of Berlin,” the court said, referring to exploratory talks after the Left Party’s election victory in the German capital on Sept. 20.
“The continued circulation of the statements in question is capable of severely discrediting the applicant in the public eye. This could also make it more difficult for potential coalition partners to enter into a coalition agreement with it,” the court said.
“Consequently, political realities could be created that extend far beyond the negative characterizations directed at the applicant,” it added.
Video to remain offline until final decision
The judges ruled 6-2 that the video must remain offline until a final decision on the Left Party’s complaint, for no longer than six months.
The court did not rule on whether Reiche’s remarks were unconstitutional and stressed that she remains free to express her views on the topic as a politician or as a private citizen.
The Left Party took the case to the Karlsruhe-based court after the ministry refused its demand to delete the video by Sept. 29, arguing that a federal ministry must not use state resources and official authority to campaign against a political party.
Reiche, a conservative politician from Chancellor Merz’s center-right CDU, argued through her lawyers that the remarks were constitutionally sound and did not violate the government’s duty of political neutrality.
In the clip, posted on Sept. 24 and taken from a speech she gave a day earlier at a business event, Reiche warned against a possible Berlin government involving the Left Party, criticizing its long-standing plans to expropriate large private housing companies as a response to soaring rents.
She also attacked it as a party “that openly embraces antisemitism, that makes Jews in this city afraid.”
Left Party politicians have repeatedly criticized their opponents for using antisemitism allegations to silence criticism of Israeli government policies and of what they describe as crimes committed by the Netanyahu government in Gaza.
The Left Party’s lead candidate in Berlin, Elif Eralp, has repeatedly dismissed claims of antisemitism against her and the party.
She said party leaders had distanced themselves from a small number of isolated incidents at some campaign events.
She added that the Left Party opposes all forms of racism and noted that during her career she has been involved in projects combating antisemitism.
Eralp’s Left Party won Berlin’s city-state election on Sept. 20 with 25.7% of the vote, more than doubling its share from three years ago. The party is currently holding talks with the center-left SPD and the environmentalist Greens on forming a potential coalition government.