It is one of the great paradoxes of the German social democracy: In all five of the pure-Eastern countries, as well as in Berlin, she ruled, but in no other Region eroded their claim to the Status of a national party is stronger than in the East. This is a threatening finding in a year, in the three Eastern German regional parliaments are elected, namely Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia.
It was to advertise a clear sign of the weakness of the SPD, the Thuringian state Chairman Wolfgang Tiefensee gave up in February, before the election, the claim to the leadership of the state Chancellery, and announced that the SPD as a Junior partner for the continuation of the red-red-green government under Bodo Ramelow (left party).
But want to Enjoyed neither the Federal party nor the East put up with this misery. On Saturday, the party leaders and prominent SPD politician from the new countries, therefore, in Erfurt, Germany for the social democratic Ostkonvent. It is about taking stock of where the SPD stand after 30 years of unity, says Carsten Schneider, the parliamentary Manager of the SPD group in the Bundestag, the comes from Thuringia. The aim of the meeting was to make the East German SPD and “powerful”.
mood
In the Landtag elections in Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia in the autumn of threatening the social Democrats heavy losses. In Brandenburg, the Comrades may hope, according to the polls, although still around 20 percent of the vote. However, that would be for the party of Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke a crash by ten percentage points, the CDU is about as strong as you, the AfD follows on the foot. In Saxony and Thuringia the SPD could be a result of even one digit, is set around the 10 percent mark.
Organizational weakness
20 . , 000 from nationwide almost 440,000 SPD members do not live in the new countries, if you count Berlin. Many East Germans who do not live in cities, are encountered in reality, not social Democrats. In all lands there are no Comrades, the posters, glue, or door-to-Door campaign to spread out.
Incorrect answers
for Too long, the Commissioner for Eastern Germany the SPD believes Martin Dulig, has tried to his party, to convince the citizens of the new countries with concepts from the West. This was a mistake. The Saxon Minister of economic Affairs believes the contrary, that the view in other post-socialist societies for the understanding of the East Germans more than the prompt opening up to the West. The prominent social Democrats from the North as Prime Minister Manuela see Schwesig, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania or of the Federal Minister for family Affairs, Franziska Giffey.
The new competition from the AfD
In Saxony and Thuringia are the right-wing populists, according to the polls six months before the state election, almost twice as strong as the SPD. In Brandenburg, they had drawn with the ruling SPD, meanwhile, fell back a few percentage points. A big Problem for the Comrades, strategically and in terms of content. In fact, the SPD in East Germany, the Right often little, not least because of the AfD-arrive content, sometimes even with classic SPD voters. It is only the threat scenarios, the fear of refugees, with the help of the AfD’s mood. All of the East German AfD-country associations of SPD, especially in the Social competition. “In the East, the AfD threatens to replace the CDU as a people’s party, the SPD has overtaken for a long time”, says Torsten Schneider-Haase of the survey Institute Emnid. Moral exclusion and condemnation of the AfD alone is for the SPD in the struggle against the right-wing populists not a promising strategy. So you would demonize about a quarter of East German voters.
What the SPD now wants to
For a strong promise of his party in the new countries Carsten Schneider the basic pension without a means test. Of your many East would benefit. “We need to put forward, because we still have a long time no agreement,” said the Thuringian, with a view to the Union refusing to accept a waiver of the means test.
In Leipzig, was founded in the SPD predecessor, the General German workers ‘ Association in 1863. 156 years later, the SPD may be starving.Photo: imago/bonn-sequence
Also want to make the social Democrats of Eastern Germany to a pioneer region for new technologies. E-mobility, technologies for eco-friendly drives, artificial intelligence and digital technologies should be promoted, as it says in the draft of the “programme for the future of the East,” which should be decided in Erfurt.
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Thuringia state SPD omitted on candidates for the Premiership
in addition, the SPD for special rules for the East in infrastructure and in the Social and education policy wants. So there had to be at the building better mobile coverage (5G) Bonus for regions with a low population density. The Commissioner for Eastern Germany Dulig calls from the Federal funding in the millions. Business, management, politics, and the media should also commit to promoting the careers of East Germans.
