After two years in government, the Chancellor’s SPD party is deep in the polls. At the beginning of a super election year, nervousness is also growing in the Bundestag faction.
In a three-hour discussion on Thursday, the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag discussed the current situation at its closed meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The 207 MPs had previously agreed not to disclose the content. SPD leader Saskia Esken then simply said that the debate had been “very solidarity-based, very appropriate, very inspiring”.
Fire letter: “Today it’s about the existence of the SPD”
The SPD had previously openly criticized the state of the party and government. The Bochum MP Axel Schäfer, who has been a member of the Bundestag for more than 20 years, wrote in an incendiary letter to the parliamentary group, which was reported by several media outlets: “Today it is about the existence of the SPD as a member’s party and as a force capable of and willing to gain a majority in our country .” The party has “never faced such a situation”.
Juso chairman Philipp Türmer also sounded the alarm. “The situation of the SPD is currently like the general political situation in the country: massively hit by crises and deeply worrying,” he told the “Handelsblatt”. “Neither the traffic light nor the SPD as the leading party are currently associated with a positive vision for the country.”
Scholz keeps a low profile: “It’s nice that you’re here”
The discussion with Scholz lasted twice as long as planned. The Chancellor himself didn’t comment on the content afterwards, only saying to the waiting journalists as he left the meeting: “It’s nice that you’re here.”
Two years after their election victory in 2021 and at the beginning of a super election year with European elections and three state elections, Scholz and the SPD are stuck deep in the poll basement. In the Sunday question about the federal election, the Social Democrats only got 14 to 17 percent and are therefore far behind the CDU/CSU and AfD in third place. In the 2021 election, the SPD was the strongest party with 25.7 percent.
Only one in five people are satisfied with the Chancellor’s work
According to the latest January ARD Germany trend, only 19 percent are satisfied with the work of Prime Minister Scholz. According to the broadcaster, this is the lowest value for a chancellor since these surveys began in 1997.
Before the debate, the parliamentary group had adopted several position papers, including one calling for a reform of the debt brake – a step rejected by the coalition partner FDP. “The currently rigid rules pose a risk to the prosperity of current and future generations by not allowing enough scope for strong investments in the future,” the resolution states. Therefore, a budgetary “future deal” for the country should be drawn up quickly in the Bundestag. “Debt is not good per se, but above all it is not bad per se. It must be used in such a way that it makes economic sense.”
The debt brake once again became the focus of the political debate after the Karlsruhe budget ruling at the end of 2023. The judges had classified the transfer of emergency loans to subsequent financial years as not legally compliant. In order to take out loans to combat a crisis, the federal government would have to make an exception to the debt brake every year and declare an emergency.
Mützenich: Democrats must take a stand against the “right-wing swamp”.
Another important topic at the exam, which lasts until Friday, was the fight against right-wing extremism. After the Potsdam meeting between right-wing extremist circles and AfD officials, parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich called on all Democrats to oppose this “right-wing swamp”. “I hope that all those who stand up for this democracy will continue to do everything in the future to take action against such networks, to take action against such ideas,” he said. The meeting was aimed “at a revolution in Germany” and required a “response from democrats and decent people.”
In November, AfD politicians took part in a meeting in Potsdam where the leader of the right-wing extremist Identitarian movement, Martin Sellner, presented his ideas, as the media company Correctiv reported. Sellner presented ideas about how more foreigners could leave Germany and how people with a history of immigration could be pushed to assimilate.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
