District Administrator Kerth sees SPD facing difficult times
According to Vorpommern-Rügen's district administrator Stefan Kerth, the SPD is facing a debacle in next year's local elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern if it does not align its policies with the realities of people's lives as quickly as possible. "Given the basic mood that we currently have for and within the Social Democrats, I cannot yet foresee the chances of any major electoral successes in the local elections," said Kerth on Tuesday in Stralsund. In the 2021 state elections, the SPD had won a clear victory with just under 40 percent, but polls recently put it at just 23 percent.
The 50-year-old Kerth reiterated his criticism from the previous day, with which he had justified his surprising resignation from the SPD after more than 20 years of membership. He said that the SPD was increasingly pursuing "opinion-led" policies and ignoring issues such as people's concerns - in particular about the continuing high level of immigration. Migration is not only an enrichment, but is also associated with serious problems in some cases. Overall, the SPD lacks a culture of discussion to deal with controversial issues.
"The center-left spectrum has ideals that can be held in high esteem. But in practice, when it comes to politics, completely different, often fatal things happen," said Kehrt. He could no longer rally behind this. If "the spirit of Helmut Schmidt still existed in the SPD", he would have remained loyal to the party, explained the district administrator. He had received a lot of encouragement for his move and his opinion.
Criticism, on the other hand, came from the ranks of the state party. Stefan Sternberg, deputy state chairman and district administrator of Ludwigslust-Parchim, rejected Kerth's criticism of the SPD's policies on NDR television. The party is not out of touch, the broadcaster quoted Sternberg as saying. Anna-Constanze Schröder, an SPD member of the state parliament in Demmin, accused Kerth on social media of having his election campaign financed by the SPD but hardly identifying with the party. She went on to write on her public Facebook page that if Kerth thought "we" were spending too much money on foreigners, he was welcome to stand alone.
The reaction of the state party leadership was terse: "We regret Stefan Kerth's decision and will continue to do our utmost to ensure good development in Vorpommern-Rügen and throughout the state," explained Julian Barlen, General Secretary of the MV SPD. State SPD Chairwoman and Minister President Manuela Schwesig also regretted Kerth's move. "I value him and will continue to work well with him as district administrator," she said.
In the 2018 district council elections, the SPD celebrated the victory of its candidate in the district, which had long been dominated by the CDU. Kerth is currently confident that he will be able to continue in office beyond the current election period. "I am now independent. And given how I feel today, I will run again in the 2025 district council elections. I hope that I can be District Administrator of Germany's most beautiful district for another term," said Kehrt.
The SPD's stance on migration, being a complex issue with both enrichment and challenges, needs to align with the concerns of the people for the party to gain traction in next year's local elections, as stated by Stefan Kerth. Despite the SPD's clear victory in the 2021 state elections, its policies on migration have become a topic of criticism within the party, leading to tension between some members and the district administrator Kerth.
Source: www.dpa.com
