New momentum for the old SPD in the West

Modernization course - New momentum for the old SPD in the West

The fact that the SPD local association meets on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in Präsenz is one of those old habits that the party now wants to cut off. The SPD in North Rhine-Westphalia has set itself a course of modernization and wants to reconnect with the people after years of crisis. The traditional party in the west no longer wants to be just a workers' party, but a "family party" - at least that's what co-leader Sarah Philipp says.

And this includes not only a policy for families, but also a more family-friendly time for local association meetings. "The world has become more complicated and more stressful," economic geographer Philipp tells the German Press Agency. Daily routines have changed. Women in particular are excluded from voluntary politics at various stages of their lives. For many, digital meetings from home are now easier. "But that's still not enough."

The 40-year-old member of the state parliament from Duisburg has been leading the NRW state association with the largest number of members since August, together with 64-year-old member of the Bundestag Achim Post from East Westphalia. What several single party leaders have failed to achieve is now to be accomplished by the first dual leadership: stopping the SPD's electoral decline in its former home state and reversing the trend.

Post and Philipp have achieved the first stage in around 100 days: the SPD in NRW is united again. And thanks to Post, who is both deputy parliamentary party leader and deputy party leader in Berlin, it is once again more closely interlinked with the federal SPD on several levels.

Since the SPD lost the NRW state elections in 2017 and Minister President Hannelore Kraft stepped down, the party leadership had presented an image of discord. "We initially put the issue of cohesion and unity back at the forefront," says Philipp. "Because we can only be successful if the SPD in North Rhine-Westphalia is united and moves forward together."

This is not just an empty phrase. Because if the SPD is weak in the most populous federal state, this will also affect election results at a national level. However, voters are currently turning away from the Social Democrats in droves. In the NRW elections in May 2022, the SPD plummeted to a historic low of 26.7 percent. According to a WDR poll in November, the party only received around 18%.

Housing policy, mobility, prosperity for all, family, daycare centers, respect - these are the thematic priorities that are now to be brought to life down to the smallest local association. "Every member needs to know what the SPD stands for in North Rhine-Westphalia," says Philipp. "It doesn't help if we decide something in the state executive but nobody in the local association is aware of it." The SPD has more than 1100 local associations in NRW. "The strength of the SPD on the ground is still very strong, especially in North Rhine-Westphalia," says Co-Party Leader Post. "That makes us really confident."

The European elections on June 9 are likely to be a first test of the mood of the new dual leadership and the strength of the base. Post says there will be fewer fundamental discussions, but "sensible answers to the concrete problems of everyday life and the future". The main motion for the state party conference at the end of August stated that SPD policy should once again focus on what people are dealing with at the dinner table.

The NRW SPD wants to be approachable and play to the strength of a party that loses thousands of members every year, but also gains new ones and still has a base of more than 88,000 members. Go where the people are, whether it's to the pub, the sports club or the factory gate, says Philipp. "We have to be in a position to argue." Philipp says this especially in the direction of the AfD, which is particularly strong in SPD strongholds in the Ruhr region.

In January, the SPD state executive committee will meet for a closed meeting to define further goals. The SPD wants to try out 20 new dialog formats in order to convince people of the social democratic ideas. "Because we know that it is no longer enough to set up an information stand in front of the bakery and talk to people four weeks before the election," says Post. The backbone of the SPD's modernization is the 37-year-old new General Secretary Frederick Cordes.

However, it could have a negative impact on the SPD in NRW if the traffic light system in Berlin continues to quarrel. "In many cases, what the traffic light has delivered in the most difficult times is really okay," says Post and warns: "But it has been overshadowed by disputes too often in the last year. We need to take a good look at ourselves and simply do better."

Even Minister President Hendrik Wüst (CDU) recently warned of a weak SPD. Right-wing populists and right-wing extremists have always been strong in elections in NRW where social democracy used to be strong. "That is why the crisis of this traffic light is particularly a crisis of the former people's party SPD." However, Wüst asserted that he had "absolutely no sympathy" for gloating about the current situation of the NRW SPD.

The NRW SPD does not accept the quote about the "former" people's party. "If he wanted to make it clear that the SPD is no longer a people's party, he is very much mistaken," says Post, pointing out that the SPD was ahead of the CDU in both the federal and NRW elections in 2021.

"Mr. Wüst should be more concerned about the dramatically high number of teaching absences and the many children and families who are eagerly waiting for a daycare place," says co-party leader Philipp. "We'll take care of the SPD, don't worry."