The SPD activist Lilly Blaudszun, who is particularly popular on social networks, sharply criticizes the federal government and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). “In government, social democrats must keep what they promised during the election campaign. So far, that has been insufficient,” says the 21-year-old to “Spiegel”.

Scholz promised leadership, says the social democrat. “It has to come now.” Domestically, Scholz should “clearly support the employees,” said Blaudszun. “That’s too much FDP in the government for me.” Referring to the war in Ukraine, Blaudszun says she had “expected faster and clearer support for Kyiv” from the Chancellor.

In the long term, the entire SPD must review its past dealings with Russia, says Blaudszun. However, she does not distance herself from her confidante, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig, who is considered a key figure in the SPD-Russia problem. “Our relationship hasn’t changed,” said Blaudszun.

As a teenager, Blaudszun had become one of the most well-known young political influencers. After the federal elections in autumn 2021, however, she temporarily withdrew from the public. She now expresses herself more frequently on political issues.

The young political influencer Lilly Blaudszun was once celebrated as the young star of the SPD until she suddenly disappeared. Now she also spoke for the first time about the lack of support from her party in the initial phase of her success: Blaudszun tells the magazine that she often felt overwhelmed, for example around the 2019 party conference, when she was particularly in the focus of the nationwide media. Blaudszun, then 18 years old, said he was left to his own devices with the organizational effort.

“Both the party and I were in an exceptional situation: the classic party structures are not prepared for digital opinion leaders like me. If you have an office, you get an office. If you don’t have one, you have to organize yourself,” says Blaudszun. She then built her own team.

Blaudszun explains her temporary withdrawal from the public, among other things, with the great pressure that weighed on her. “The pace was constantly too high,” says the 21-year-old, “politics can be addictive.” She “felt a lot of pressure to be present at as many events and in the media, to meet as many people as possible.”