If you follow headlines in Germany, especially over the past seven days....it's safe to say that all news organizations are portraying the SPD Party (left of center) to be in total chaos.
What really happened here?
I would go to three basic elements.
1. When the SPD Party came up in late 2016 and announced the arrival of Martin Schulz to be their new front-guy and lead the party onto the September 2017 election....they felt some great but fake enthusiasm. Schulz was hyped up over pro-migration and the EU. Beyond that, he just didn't connect to the bulk of SPD voters. In a way, they were expecting something different.
2. The youth of the SPD Party movement just aren't reading off the same script as the SPD leadership. This probably has been going on for a decade or more, but in the past six months....it's reached a stage where there's a total disconnect.
3. Finally, you come to the news media itself, and the handling or criticism being muffled or limited over the past couple of years. If the political folks were being stupid.....it was lightly observed and rarely critical in commentary. It's hard to find anyone over the past year who jumped on Schulz from ARD or ZDF.
What'll happen now? My guess is that the coalition vote on 4 March will fail, and that the party will go through a long process of rebuilding. I also think the youth of the SPD will step away and find other political parties to attach themselves upon. Both the Bavarian and Hessen state elections will spell out the pain the party and show lesser numbers than expected.
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