European election campaign: SPD is preparing for the European elections – Barley praises Scholz

The SPD is preparing for the European elections on June 9th at a delegate conference in Berlin on Sunday. The Vice President of the European Parliament, Katarina Barley, is to be elected as the top candidate, as she was five years ago. The approximately 150 delegates also want to vote on their election program entitled “Together for a strong Europe”.

The main speeches will be given by Barley and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who will play a key role in the election campaign. Secretary General Kevin Kühnert announced on Thursday that the two would be “together the faces of the election campaign”.

Traffic light government in low spirits

Barley justified the decision with the role that Scholz plays in Europe. “He is a strong European figure. And that, I hope, will help us,” she told the German Press Agency. His role is very respected in Europe. “A lot depends on Germany. And a lot depends on the German Chancellor. And he brought a lot of positive impulses to the European Union during his time in office.”

Scholz and his traffic light government with the Greens and FDP in Berlin have been in a low mood for months. In polls for the federal election, the Social Democrats are currently at 13 to 16 percent. In the last European elections in 2019, the SPD achieved its worst result to date in a nationwide election with 15.8 percent.

The goal is to significantly improve this result, said Barley. But she didn’t want to give a specific value. “The important thing is that we all put everything into this election and then achieve the best possible result. I don’t believe in painting numbers on the wall at all.”