SPD election campaign start: Scholz swears by SPD for a tough election campaign

Around three months before the federal election, the Chancellor and SPD candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz has vowed his party to catch up in the election campaign. In his first major campaign speech to around 500 party members in Berlin, he viewed the election on February 23rd as a directional decision between a “back from here” conservatism of the Union and the SPD as a “center force” in Germany that stands for “common sense ” stand.

“Now it’s about the whole thing,” said Scholz in his hour-long speech, for which he received long standing applause. If you take a wrong turn now, there will be serious consequences. In the next 85 days he will give everything for the country and social democracy. “Let’s reflect on our strength: Don’t complain, do it. Fight together,” he said at the end of his speech. “If we fight, we will win. Friendship.”

SPD wants to put candidate disputes behind them

Scholz was unanimously nominated as candidate for chancellor by the party executive committee on Monday. This was preceded by a two-week debate about whether Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who is much more popular with the people, should be substituted for Scholz, who is politically ailing after the failure of his traffic light government. With the “Election Victory Conference” in Berlin, to which candidates and their teams were invited, the party now wants to put the dispute behind it and look forward.

Scholz has set himself the goal of making the SPD the strongest force in the Bundestag again – as it was three years ago. However, in surveys it is currently 16 to 22 percentage points behind the Union. There are only 85 days left until the election on February 23rd to catch up.

Attack against Lindner: government work “systematically sabotaged”

Scholz began his speech with attacks on FDP leader Christian Lindner, whom he fired as finance minister at the beginning of November, thus sealing the end of the traffic light coalition. In serious times, Germany needs serious politics and “no players and no gamblers.” Lindner and his FDP had “systematically sabotaged” the work of the traffic light government for months. “They wanted to actively prevent this federal government from being successful,” said Scholz. “Something like this must never happen again in Germany.”

Four key points for economic growth

Scholz named four points that he would like to promote in the election campaign in order to get out of the economic crisis: Securing industrial jobs, especially in the severely ailing auto industry; cheap energy for the economy; increased investment in infrastructure; Fight against the shortage of skilled workers. In order to enable investments, Scholz wants to reform the debt brake.

Scholz called for a further increase in the minimum wage and said that stable pensions and affordable housing would only be possible with the SPD. He emphasized that the traffic light government had made great progress in the fight against irregular immigration.

“You don’t play Russian roulette with Germany’s security”

Scholz also wants to score points in the election campaign with his dual strategy in the Ukraine war. On the one hand, he assures Ukraine of continued arms deliveries, but at the same time wants to prevent NATO from becoming involved in the war with Russia. That is why he rejects the provision of the Taurus cruise missiles that Kiev has been demanding for a long time. “You don’t play Russian roulette with Germany’s security,” emphasized Scholz. “I will remain steadfast and level-headed, you can rely on that.”

25.7 percent in the last election

Scholz’s candidacy for chancellor still has to be confirmed at the party conference on January 11th. This is considered a formality. However, Scholz has to be measured by his result from May 2021 – a good four months before the federal election. At that time he was confirmed with 96.2 percent of the vote.

At that time, as today, the SPD was polling between 14 and 16 percent. It was only a laugh from Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet in the flood area that was perceived as inappropriate that brought about a turning point in the summer: the SPD ultimately became the strongest force with 25.7 percent.

Klingbeil: “We are a party for catching up”

Party leader Lars Klingbeil called on the SPD not to be influenced by the polls. “Don’t listen to the polls, don’t listen to the articles that are being written now,” he said. “If the SPD can do something, it’s fight. We are a party for catching up.”

There was a first glimmer of hope for Scholz and the SPD today with an Insa survey commissioned by “Bild”. According to this, 22 percent of people in Germany would now directly vote for Scholz as chancellor – plus 7 percentage points compared to the previous week before the candidates were chosen. Union Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz is further ahead with 30 percent (minus 1), while Green Chancellor candidate Robert Habeck slips to 16 percent (minus 2) and thus into third place. In the Sunday question on the Bundestag question, the SPD is still 17 percentage points behind the Union (15 percent to 32 percent).