It is not yet certain whether and when the elections to the House of Representatives will have to be repeated, but the Berlin SPD is already preparing for the election campaign. At the SPD state party conference on Saturday in Neukölln, the judgment of the state constitutional court announced for Wednesday ran through numerous speeches. Berlin’s governing mayor and SPD state chairwoman Franziska Giffey called on her party not to be afraid of a repetition of the parliamentary elections. “We may have to face another vote,” she said. “I think it’s very important that we don’t let ourselves be deterred or worried.” The SPD can show what they’ve achieved.
“There are a few who think maybe they won’t make it. I’ll tell you one thing: Maybe the troupe will also get bigger,” said Giffey and received sustained applause from the delegates. “Especially in the crisis it shows who people can rely on – and people can rely on the SPD.” Right now is the time for social politics. “We don’t leave people alone in their distress and say: See how you get along,” emphasized Giffey. That is why there is the package of relief measures decided by the Senate as a protective shield for the country.
Giffey didn’t omit tips against the Greens either: “We’re not talking about the fact that it would be nice if there were bike paths. And then you look at the city and maybe someone will finish it,” said the SPD state leader with a dig at the green mobility senator Bettina Jarasch, who is responsible for the expansion of the cycle path network. “I’m not going to say anything else, but the point is that it must also be clear who stands for flowering dreams and who stands for pragmatic politics that really does what it says and says what it does.” And do that the SPD.
Giffey’s co-chairman and parliamentary group leader Raed Saleh said the SPD had long been pursuing the plan that Berlin had to be an affordable city and that money had to be invested in it. “When, if not now, the principle applies: You don’t save in a crisis,” he said, pointing out that Red-Green-Red had agreed to expand the supplementary budget by another 400 million euros. Saleh also criticized the Green coalition partner and specifically Finance Senator Daniel Wesener, who he accused of having been too hesitant in the discussions about the money needed for the relief measures.
Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil (SPD), who came as a guest to the state party conference, had brought a few pieces of advice for the upcoming election campaign: “If that’s the case, the sentence applies: beat the drum and don’t be afraid.” The SPD have good chance of winning.
Heil also called on the capital’s Social Democrats to unite. “The Berlin SPD is famous throughout Germany for its enthusiasm for discussions,” said Heil. “Discussing is good, but at some point a decision has to be made.” Above all, Heil supported the state chairperson: “With Franziska Giffey, you have a governing mayor who is good for this city. There is no better one,” he said.
Whether it was due to Heil’s appeal remains to be seen: The Social Democrats unanimously decided on the leading motion on the topic “We’ll get Berlin through the crisis well and in solidarity”. Even during the consultation beforehand, there were hardly any critical comments to be heard.
This time, however, there were no elections for the party executive. The Social Democrats in the capital only re-elected their leaders at the state party conference in June. However, Giffey had done comparatively poorly with 58.9 percent and Saleh with 57.4 percent. The 100 percent for the main application this time, on the other hand, is considered confirmation of the state leadership.
The fact that the Berlin SPD is moving closer together and no delegates are stepping out of line should also have something to do with next Wednesday: If the state constitutional court decides on complete by-elections in September 2021 because of the numerous mishaps in the House of Representatives elections in September 2021, the majority in the state parliament could change significantly and the Social Democrats could change cannot be sure of becoming the strongest party again. Calls for unity were heard several times at the party congress.
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