One of the big surprises ahead of the German federal elections later this month has been the sharp rise in support for the Social Democratic Party, which makes it a strong candidate to lead the country’s next coalition government.
The center-left party is already part of the current coalition government led by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is stepping down after 16 years of leading the largest European economy.
The latest opinion polls show a steady increase in the SPD since August. As it stands, polls show the party ahead of rivals and is seen with 25% of the vote, which takes place on September 26th. Second, with 21% of the vote, is Merkel’s conservative alliance formed by the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union.
Olaf Scholz, SPD candidate chancellor, is portrayed during a campaign rally on August 27, 2021 in Berlin, Germany.
Florian Gaertner | Photothek | Getty Images
In third place are the Greens, who saw a rebound in polls earlier this year, with 17% of the vote, according to the Politico poll poll.
The SPD’s leadership means that its candidate for chancellor, current finance minister and vice chancellor Olaf Scholz, could fill the shoes left by Merkel and lead Germany into a new political era. It is still very likely that the next government will be a coalition, with no party willing to get enough seats in the Bundestag (or parliament) to govern alone.
Martin Schulz, the former SPD leader, told CNBC that he was not surprised by the SPD’s growing popularity and that Scholz was well positioned to lead the country.
“The position of the German people is strongly influenced by the question of who is capable of leading Germany, the largest member state of the European Union … And this is neither Annalena Baerbock nor Armin Laschet, but Olaf Scholz. And for it became clear to me that the moment people started to consider Merkel leaving and who could replace her, Scholz would become the main person, ”she told CNBC’s Annette Weisbach on Wednesday.
Who is who
Scholz is an experienced politician given his role in government and as a former mayor of Hamburg and former deputy leader of the SPD. He has been seen as a candidate for stability, a constant pair of hands at a time of political transition in Germany.
Olaf Scholz, candidate chancellor of the German Social Democrats (SPD), speaks at an election campaign rally on September 5, 2021 in Leipzig, Germany. Scholz currently has a wide advantage over his main rival, Armin Laschet of the Christian Democrats (CDU / CSU), ahead of the federal parliamentary elections scheduled for September 26.
Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The increase in its popularity, and that of the SPD, has been given in support of the CDU-CSU – led by Laschet – and the Greens, whose candidate for chancellor is Baerbock, has declined with the popularity of both leaders affected by various controversies and questions about their suitability to lead.
Read more: The Greens were favorites before the election on the German “roller coaster”, but no longer
Laschet of the CDU, in particular, has seen his ratings plummet due to a disappointing campaign trail and poor performance on the public stage. Being surprised by the camera laughing during a visit to a German city affected by devastating floods, so he later apologized, also did nothing to enhance his public personality.
For her part, and knowing that her party appeared to be in danger before the election, Merkel on Tuesday used a speech in the Bundestag as an opportunity to promote Laschet, saying she advocated “stability, reliability, moderation and centrality “.
He also gave Scholz a short veil in an address to the Bundestag on Tuesday, seemingly referring to Scholz’s comments about vaccines against Covid last week, when he had said that the estimated 50 million fully vaccinated Germans had effectively served as “guinea pigs” for those who were skeptical, effectively proving that the shot was safe.
“If we want to convince people [to get a vaccine] it must be with arguments and not with images of guinea pigs, ”Merkel told lawmakers, Deutsche Welle news agency reported, though she did not refer to Scholz by name.
Schulz did not agree with the idea that the SPD candidate for chancellery was a candidate for continuity who would continue with strategies and policies similar to the outgoing Merkel.
“It’s the other way around. When you listen carefully to Angela Merkel’s speech [on Tuesday] he was strongly opposed to Social Democratic leadership in government. “
“In my opinion, the most important figure of [opinion] in the polls, 46% of Germans consider social justice to be the most important element for the future. [That was] higher in its ranking than climate change, the fight against climate change, and Olaf Scholz represents a kind of new political style. Instead of / or [he represents] both of us.”
SPD approach
Schulz, who took a look at what a coalition government led by the SPD could look like, said the party’s three main focuses were Europe, respect and investment in infrastructure.
The party’s goal would be first “to increase European activities, deepen European integration and make the European Union safer, because we are in competition with other systems in the world, not only an economic competition, but it is also a controversial competition. “
Second, he said the party’s goal was to achieve “mutual respect.” “Peaceful societies depend on mutual respect for each other’s respect … Rejecting the strategy of some parties, especially those on the far right, [and telling them] that from the highest level of government we say that we are a society that unites instead of excluding minorities. “
Finally, Schulz said that Germany “needed a huge amount of money to invest in infrastructure in Germany, not just in real estate, but in our railway system, for example, which is becoming much faster and in our digital infrastructure. “.