German media: The SPD in the face of possible disaster in the elections

He looks like him “Coach” of the Social Democrats. Lars Klingbaile has been the General Secretary of the SPD since 2017. Three months before the September 26th federal elections, he is doing everything he can to instill optimism and a competitive atmosphere in the desperate “team”. Urges, mobilizes, makes appeals. “We must regain the ground now!” reported in an online meeting with young Social Democrat candidates. “I want you to be a role model, to move forward!” DW.

His candidates SPD they want to reach out to as many voters as they can in each constituency. “Tell them with arguments why we need a strong social democracy in Germany,” Klingbail urges. Affordable rents, better care, stable pensions, higher wages, climate protection while keeping heavy industry alive are just some of the issues high on the SPD agenda. The result of the elections is open for the General Secretary of the Party.

The same optimism, however, is not shared by Uwe Yoon, a professor of political science at the University of Trier. “The SPD should be afraid that in the upcoming elections it may record the worst election result since the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany,” he said. As he notes, if anyone in Germany asks which party is associated with continuity and stability, this is the CDU. When we talk about renewal, the Greens associatively come to mind. “Skills related to climate change management, the economy and crisis management in general are more prevalent among members of the CDU or the Greens,” Yoon said.

One might reasonably wonder: Why is all this happening in the oldest German party, with a history of 150 years? modern German history? These questions also concern Rolls Mychenich, head of the K.O. of the SPD in the German Parliament.

The sober Olaf Solz

However, from the point of view of the party leadership, everything is done correctly. The candidate for chancellor Olaf Solts prepared his election program early after consulting with many social groups. However, the “spark” is missing from the program. “Why; I do not know!” says Mytsenich characteristically. “Maybe one reason has to do with the pandemic and the management of ongoing crises, which prevent us from looking to the future,” he said. For Uwe Yun, however, this is no excuse. The SPD has lost its electoral dynamics and credibility for years. “A party that seems to be struggling with itself and appears divided is never positively evaluated by voters,” Yoon said.

In recent years, however, the SPD has become very similar to the Greens in terms of its priorities: emancipation, tolerance, climate change, sustainable development. At the same time, it is losing many of its traditional voters. “The simple workforce that is not affiliated with a union and works in doubt has moved away from the SPD, partly going to the AfD and partly abstaining,” Yoon explains. Today he can earn some extra points only among voters over 60: civil servants, union members or well-paid skilled workers. But even former SPD voters believe that internal divisions should stop and that the party should really turn to the people.

At the same time, the sober Olaf Solz does not seem to have the political charisma that mobilizes the masses. “Voters doubt whether Soltz fits into the SPD,” Yoon said. For decades, Soltz belonged to the conservative wing of the party and in 2019 he opposed a turn to the left. Yoon believes the Social Democrats nevertheless have no immediate choice. In the long run, however, they need to change their orientation fundamentally. If the SPD wants to win back the voters, it must seriously consider what social democracy represents in the 21st century of digitization.