Focus (the German magazine) wrote up a nice little article over the coming three state elections in Germany for mid-March.....and the likely fall of the SPD candidates. It's worth reading.
They are probably correct in that dismal numbers will result in some big meeting by mid-April, and some shake-up occurring with two or three big-name SPD national folks retiring, and some new people moving up.
The question is....will any of this really pump up enthusiasm within the SPD political circle and around the country.....for the two fall state elections?
My humble guess? No.
The SPD franchise name for several decades....was that they were about the common working-class German guy.....the guy who who built cars, drove a truck, baked bread at 3AM, and loaded planes with passengers and cargo.
With this whole discussion now in Germany centered on immigration, refugees, and asylum....the SPD hasn't exactly sat down with it's rank-and-file supporters and had some real discussion with the working-class supporters. They've worked the other way around.....telling the working-class guy what he ought to expect from them....the guys at the top or the intellectuals.
It would be curious to drag a hundred SPD enthusiasts.....not political players but the rank-and-file....into a room and have some real discussion from them....not the journalists, politicians or intellectuals. We might get a different assessment of the future and how to approach this whole immigration issue.
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