Next weekend will be two German state elections, and the one detail which stands out already....a dismal expectation exists for the SPD Party (the left-of-center group). As an American, the best description I would use for the SPD...is that they are similar in nature to the US Democratic Party.
Most working-class Germans would say that reputation, status, and 'promises-kept'....related to the SPD....have soured over the past decade. Reasons? As an outsider, I would offer these five observations:
1. Chancellor Merkel did everything possible to push her own CDU Party to the center of the spectrum. It would be correct to say that the CDU today....resembles some Frankenstein-creation that is half-CDU and half-SPD. Even some of the conservative-type voters would laugh and say their right-of-center party no longer exists today.
2. When you go and drag up immigration, asylum and migration....the SPD took the open-door view and were pro-immigration and pro-integration. It was probably a positive trend for them all the way up to spring of 2017, but that silly New Year's Eve episode in Koln changed the prospective of a lot of Germans, and the Party was stuck with a brand-name, and public view that something was wrong. When the public stance shifted.....the SPD folks were handcuffed and unable to move on or repair their message.
3. Pro-working-class party? That was a central theme of the SPD in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. That brand hasn't really existed at that level for the past two decades. It was a strategy shift that saw more popular and trendy positions pushed, and the plain working-class guy was left by the side of the road.
4. Lack of a brand-guy to lead the party? Over the past twenty years, there's been probably a dozen individuals come and go. Each came with the 'look' and the used-car salesman 'attire'. Each stumbled along and marginally lifted the party.
5. Finally, the over-the-edge dynamics of politics being 'hot' and news journalists selling the latest emergency of the day? While it's a major problem in the US.....that same trend has been brewing here in Germany. It's safe to say that some Germans have pushed back and don't get thrilled over continual political bickering or public forum discussions.
So where does this all lead? I would suggest that the 2021 national election will be a dismal situation, with the SPD lucky to get 16-to-18 percent of the national vote. A big enough failure to trigger yet another reorganization and new figure to lead the party? Yes.....that's the sad part of the story.
No comments:
Post a Comment