“The SPD must not just be a dietary supplement”

Norbert Walter-Borjans just knocked a few stones, as he says on the phone. The former SPD party chairman is a passionate hobby sculptor for around 25 years, and he knows that patience, perseverance and meticulousness are necessary for a perfectly fully fully developed work of art.

The picture that its SPD currently emits appears contourless and out of focus. German social democracy is more “official apparatus” than movement party, is often perceived “as a party of the indentations”. This is the conclusion of a party internal commission that has drawn the first teachings from the historical defeat in the Bundestag election. She proposes a “future program 2040”, so to speak a new one Big Picture The SPD.

Norbert Walter-Borjans, 72, also sees a need for action. “I can gain a lot of a broad discussion about a new SPD principle,” says the former party leader (2019 to 2021) star. “The SPD must not only be a nutritional supplement for conservative politics.” The Social Democrats must have their own and recognizable voice in the black and red coalition, that means.

In the SPD, a debate about a realignment has long started, the calls after a relentless dealing with the desolate election result of 16.4 percent are getting louder.

The SPD leadership is potentially turbulent times in the Willy-Brandt-Haus. At the early party congress at the end of June, the pent -up frustration could look for a valve. Many now want to enjoy a new basic program. But can that go well: throw old certainties overboard without disassembling yourself?

The CDU had filed its new fundamental program for more than two years, partly arguing about formulations. As a party, one should not get lost in a fundamental discussion. “But only to rule is not enough.” The former SPD parliamentary group leader has doubts as to whether the current SPD principle is “still up to date”. The new SPD parliamentary group vice Armand also called for a fundamental discussion about “how we understand work in the 21st century”.

The last fundamental program of the SPD was adopted in October 2007. When artificial intelligence was still a future music, right -wing populists were not yet in parliaments or exotic hybrid working models. “I do not know whether the word digitization occurs in it,” said Stephan Weil, the former Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, in March with a view to the “Hamburg program” from 2007. In fact, the word never appears in the 79-page document.

The Jusos also require a renewal of the party that goes beyond the personnel table. The SPD offspring is naturally rebellious, does not shy away from clear words. At the state party days in Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia, they had particularly accused party leader Lars Klingbeil a kind of self-service mentality.

Former party leader Norbert Walter-Borjans, Klingbeil’s predecessor, knows professional debates. In 2019 he was elected to the SPD’s first dual leadership with Saskia Esken, who did not run again for the chair at the party conference. At that time, the party was in turmoil because they had pushed the political events into a black-red coalition again-although the unpopular alliance had given her a historical low of 20.5 percent in the previous election. A new, vaulting narrative, also for self -assurance.

Walter-Borjans and Esken launched the “program workshop”. The “future program” was created. Walter-Borjans and Esken placed great importance to readability: The text, which initially came into being in the program commission with many contributions to the party base, was translated into simple, understandable language by an external copywriter. Only then was the final version formulated.

“The SPD had the most successful time when the workers knew that the party was there for them,” says Walter-Borjans, and also a broad social class that it needed a strong social democratic force in the country. Which are committed to the environment, culture and peace, for example. “How do you get these topics reconciled and out of an increasingly intellectual area?” This is the fabric from which one could initiate a program discussion. It is important, however, that in the end not only a guidance that disappears into the drawer again.

After the lost federal election, it is out of the question that a fundamental debate about the SPD’s profile is needed. The self -proclaimed workers’ party is no longer, at least not in the perception of the voters. The former nuclear clientele went over to AfD and Left Party. “We lost the character as a party of work,” admitted party leader Klingbeil. Rolf Mützenich, the former parliamentary group leader, brought the problem to this formula: “We are in a sandwich position: we lose to the left and the AfD.” That is dangerous, it needs to answer.

Among other things, these answers are to develop the working group used by the party leadership. The SPD top must be initiated, of course, the programmatic restart. Klingbeil in particular has to be measured. He has massively expanded his power since the election defeat, is now a vice-chancellor and finance minister in the Black-Red government and wants to be elected again at the party conference. Bärbel Bas, the new Minister of Labor, wants to follow Saskia Esken in office.

Does the new double -top lead do the strength to reorganize the SPD in terms of content? According to reports, the SPD’s party presidency and board member of the SPD could set the first course for this on Monday.