Let's be left and traffic lights
The three-day SPD federal party conference at the Berlin Exhibition Center ends on the second Sunday in Advent. The Social Democrats send astrong signal of unity with large majorities for their leadership .At the same time, they adopt a series of demands that position the party clearly to the left of its own government - from social and tax policy to an actively steering state and issues of immigration and climate policy. Changes of course at federal level are not an issue, despite disastrous poll results. Criticism of the Federal Chancellor is also something that hardly anyone wants to hear beyond the party newcomers.
1. the Chancellor can generate heatAccording tothe polls, the Chancellor's reputation is at an all-time low and things are not much better for the SPD. But anyone expecting Olaf Scholz to be met with harsh criticism at the Berlin Exhibition Center will be proven wrong. Even before the head of government can address the delegates on Saturday, he is showered with standing ovations and even more when his hour-long speech is over. Essentially, Scholz has said nothing new. He neither pointed out a way to solve the acute budget crisis nor did the Chancellor reflect on how he and the SPD could lead the federal government more convincingly in future.
However, Scholz, who was once reviled by his party as chairman, delivered one of his best party conference speeches, assuring the audience that he would pursue social democratic ideas with all his might: from defending the welfare state against austerity proposals from the FDP and CDU/CSU and the fight for better wages to the commitment to maintaining and establishing new industrial jobs and climate policy. Giving people well-founded "confidence" that the numerous and unavoidable changes will lead to a good future is the best way to counter the rise of the AfD. Thus assured that the SPD Chancellor is pursuing social democratic goals out of his own conviction, the delegates are downright enthusiastic: at least in the SPD there is now "confidence" again.
2. the peace party lives party peace While Scholz does not have to stand for election, the chairpersons and the executive committee are newly elected. Regardless of the federal poll results and the recent state election defeats, Lars Klingbeil and Saskia Esken are re-elected with ratings above 80 percent. Esken, once considered by many inside and outside the party to be too easy for the job, is now entering her third term in office. General Secretary Kevin Kühnert, who spoke to the delegates in the style of his time as Juso chairman, sometimes passionately, received more than 90 percent. The vice-chairmen did not have to fret about their results either, especially not Hubertus Heil with his almost 97%.
Is it a truce in the face of the many attacks from outside? Probably not. Under the leadership of the party and parliamentary group, the SPD has succeeded in resolving all conflicts and programmatic disputes strictly internally. That was the basis of the 2021 election victory and the Social Democrats have internalized it: the SPD can only be successful if it is united externally. The fact that it continues to succeed in maintaining cohesion is astonishing given the poor poll results. But perhaps it's more like this: as long as the Social Democrats are in power, the world will always be a better place from the point of view of their comrades than if someone else were chancellor. But this attitude harbors risks: The party conference barely discussed why the SPD is not catching on with voters.
3. the Jusos are a force - with clear boundariesAfterjust a few years with Merkel, it was said that the CDU was a chancellor's election party. The Juso delegates, who were disproportionately well represented, may have felt the same way when they vented their displeasure. One after the other, members of the party's young generation took to the stage to express their dissatisfaction to Olaf Scholz. Juso leader Philipp Türmer, still fresh in office, attested to the Chancellor's lack of leadership and empathy. He receives hardly any approval, one speaker is even booed. The majority of delegates do not want to be told by young people how to do the job of Chancellor in a complicated coalition.
Nevertheless, the Young Socialists make their mark at the party conference. Together with the left of the party, they force the SPD to demand a one-off wealth tax on the super-rich. They are also able to push through a change to the SPD's demand for a debt brake reform. According to this, there should no longer be a rigid upper brake on borrowing. They also achieve a partial success on migration policy. There is no majority for the demand to abolish the EU border protection agency Frontext and a rejection of external border procedures proposed by the EU asylum reform. However, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser can hardly ignore numerous minimum requirements of her party regarding external border procedures in the further negotiations on the Common European Asylum Policy (CEAS).
4. an SPD far to the left of the traffic lightTheparty will become "louder" again a year and a half before the hot phase of the next parliamentary election campaign, announced SPD Chairman Lars Klingbeil in an interview with ntv.de. The main motion "Together for a strong Germany" sets out the direction: one million new jobs in climate-neutral industries of the future, relief for 95% of income brackets, higher taxes on large inheritances, more money for education. In addition, the SPD wants to significantly relax the debt brake as soon as it sees a majority in favor of changing the constitution.
With this program, the SPD is a party that has nothing at all in common with the FDP. A strong state that actively steers the economy, subsidizes key industries where necessary, advocates a noticeably higher minimum wage and higher collectively agreed wages and, despite the demographic challenges, does not force anyone to work for more than 45 years - with pensions rising in line with inflation and contribution rates remaining the same: This does not fit in with the ideas of the FDP. This is also the real conflict behind the still smouldering budget crisis. The SPD's party conference resolutions point to the future, but the conflicting ideas of the coalition partners are now paralyzing the government alliance - and thus the entire country.
5. rapprochement was yesterday, Russia is the enemyOneof Klingbeil's core tasks in his first two years as party chairman was to reorganize the SPD's foreign policy. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has made it necessary for the party to do nothing less than break with its previous Ostpolitik. For the time being, there can only be security against Russia, not with the nuclear superpower to the far east of the European continent, another key motion now states. It clearly acknowledges the party's misjudgement that it could contain Vladimir Putin's empire through ever closer economic ties and ever greater gas imports. Klingbeil has now apologized personally in part for the fact that the party ignored warnings from smaller states in Eastern Europe for so long.
At the party conference, parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich admitted that he had "completely underestimated" Putin's imperial thinking. The SPD must admit to "mistakes" and "misunderstandings". At the same time, Mützenich and foreign policy expert Ralf Stegner also reveal how much they are still offended by the many criticisms of the SPD's Russia policy in the past. It is a "disgrace" to place the former policy of détente "in line with the war of aggression" against Ukraine, says Mützenich, for example. Both also reject pointed demands made of Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz to provide Ukraine with more weapons. They are clearly not alone in this stance: the chairman of the Europe Committee, Michael Roth, had repeatedly criticized Scholz's restraint - and surprisingly failed in the election for a place on the party presidium.
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6. The FDP and SPD have radically different budgetary views The budgetary policy debate within the Traffic Light Coalition has reached a boiling point. The FDP, known for its fiscal conservatism, is at odds with the SPD's more interventionist stance. The SPD, with its emphasis on social policy and climate action, is pushing for a relaxation of the debt brake, while the FDP insists on maintaining fiscal discipline.
7. Green party and SPD agree on climate policy Despite the budgetary disagreements, the SPD and the Green Party appear to be in agreement on climate policy. The SPD's commitment to creating one million new jobs in climate-neutral industries is in line with the Green Party's ambitions to transition Germany to a green economy.
8. SPD demands tax increase on the wealthy In line with their left lean, the SPD is advocating for a tax increase on large inheritances. This move is aimed at funding social policies and addressing wealth inequality.
9. Jusos seek reform of asylum policy The youth wing of the SPD, the Jusos, has been pushing for a reform of the asylum policy. They are advocating for a more humane approach, including a review of the EU border protection agency Frontex and a rejection of external border procedures proposed by the EU asylum reform.
10. Attack on Ukraine leaves a lasting impact on SPD's foreign policy The conflict in Ukraine has led to a shift in the SPD's foreign policy. The party has recognized its mistakes in its policy towards Russia and is now calling for a more assertive stance against Russian aggression.
Source: www.ntv.de
