European Democrats often do not have much to celebrate these days. No wonder, then, that Olaf Scholz’s victory in the German election it was the most red day in Europe in the left.
Socialists across the region have found solace in the results that are seen as a major political path forward in the EU’s major economic development. It came just two weeks after the Labor party won a parliamentary election in Norway.
“In Germany, as in Norway, we have seen the Social Democrats succeed in promoting respect for the working class, and establishing a secure future for the economy,” Anneliese Dodds, Britain’s opposition Labor chairperson, told the Financial Times.
Sunday’s polls were not positive – the SPD only got 25.7%, compared to two more points than their rivals, the CDU / CSU.
But the party is now preparing for negotiations on a special three-state agreement with free Democrats and vegetables This could disrupt German politics and could show a marked difference in the 16-year term of the outgoing chancellor. Angela Merkel.
Some are now studying Scholz playbook, hoping to find advice on their future campaigns. Germany’s finance minister “disrupted the rest of his program, such as low pay, with a personal reputation,” said Enrico Letta, Italy’s left-wing Democratic Party leader who is running for office in Italy in 2023. ” [too] and trying to combine progressive responses with a way to motivate people. ”
SPD leaders say the coronavirus epidemic and the concerns it raised contributed to the crisis. “Corona means that things like jobs and services played a big part in this work,” said Nils Schmid, a lawmaker at SPD. “The decision was not about refugees, or the law, or Europe – it was just about the economic, bread and butter issues that the SPD did. And it has a lot to do with the epidemic.”
However, experts have warned against viewing Sunday’s results as a signal that Germany is moving to the left. Die Linke, a left-wing party, saw a drop in the vote. And only one in four voters cast their ballots for the Social Democrats, a party that in 1998 won 41 percent.
“If the SPD, Greens and FDP agree, I would not see it as a resilient alliance but a generous, natural, and modern alliance,” said Robert Vehrkamp, a political scientist at the Bertelsmann Foundation.
“Germany’s political landscape has changed, it is now more modern, more open, and more environmentally friendly, and it no longer feels represented by the Christian Democrats after Merkel.”
But some warned of other parties leaving Europe to get an idea from the success of the SPD. Lykke Friis, a former Danish independence minister, said no two Social Democrats were alike today – in fact there were significant differences of opinion.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Social Democrat, has outdone many immigrants and is more vulnerable to Scholz’s EU economic stance, for example. “Democrats in Germany and Denmark are not the only ones living,” he said. “No they’re not singing the same song.”
However, the success of the SPD is a controversial issue for a political party that has been on the rise in Europe, due to a shortage of industrialized workers, formerly leading, and the rise of well-known parties that have eaten away at its electoral base.
In Britain Work party has expired over the past 11 years, facing huge losses in the former northern states, working for the 2019 elections. French culture After resigning from the political party and the Italian Democratic Party in Letta, it is left behind in the voting behind the two main parties – the League and Fratelli d’Italia.
The Nordic countries, however, gave the first sign of a left-wing move among other European elites. After the success of Labor in Norway this month, for the first time since 2001 Norway, Sweden and Denmark will have a Prime Minister of the Social Democrat. In recent years, Scholz advisers have repeatedly suggested that the return to the left of Scandinavia was a signal of what would happen in Germany.
But Germany’s SPD campaign will be difficult for other parties to follow. Even in terms of residual income – fixed pensions, affordable housing, higher salaries for caregivers and other low-income earners – it was also in line with Scholz.
This was the most successful of the tens of thousands of voters who had previously supported the CDU / CSU. He saw the finance minister, with his silence, knowledge of government and politics, as Merkel’s successor – even though he came from an opposition party.
“Many Merkel voters have changed from CDU / CSU to SPD – dissatisfied and aspiring chancellors [Armin Laschet] and they were ready to try something new, ”Vehrkamp said.
Some think that this approach to human behavior can be a force for good in some lands. Enrico Letta said he would give the same to voters, and promised to continue with the official leadership of Mario Draghi in Italy. The former ECB leader is expected to step down in 2023, probably for the first time if he runs for president of Italy.
But the Social Democrats in Germany insisted that their victory was not only for Scholz but also for the way the party set up its campaign – which was carefully crafted on the theme of honor.
“Scholz spoke about the experiences of people in the community – their insecurities, frustration over borrowing money, fear of losing their jobs, growing resentment in the business community for 20 years now and have encouraged widespread publicity,” he said. Author Schmid. “He made a story out of it [which] I really talked to people. ”
What also helped was the unusual amount that the SPD showed during this time. “We thought about our health, party leadership and the chancellor’s presidency in public, and we carried all 400,000 members, so that everyone felt responsible for their results,” said Cancel Kiziltepe, SPD MP.
Any democratic party in Europe that wants to pursue the success of the SPD should see the need for internal integration, he said. “That is what has made our preaching work so effective.”
Additional reports of Erika Solomon and Davide Ghiglione