Bavaria’s SPD state leader Florian von Brunn has rejected the sometimes strong criticism from his own party about coming to terms with the historic bankruptcy in the state elections. “I would advise us to inform ourselves first before we launch criticism in public. Anything else will harm the party,” said Brunn when asked on Tuesday at the start of the SPD parliamentary group’s retreat in the Bavarian state parliament in Munich.
Looking at the letter to the state executive published by the Hof SPD at the weekend, Brunn said: “Almost everything that is in the letter is factually incorrect.” For example, contrary to what is claimed, the local level of the SPD is taken into account in the processing. In addition, local politicians are also directly involved as members of the state executive board.
Brunn explained that he understood that the SPD in Hof was disappointed with the election results, “I am too.” But in the current situation, it doesn’t help the Bavarian SPD “that we bring debates to the outside world.”
In the open letter, the Hof SPD accused the state executive board of, among other things, not being seriously interested in changing course and, as after previous election defeats, relying on “business as usual”. The letter was signed by the district executive of the SPD association in the city of Hof. For a new start, the regional association must “put everything to the test: its structures, its ability to campaign and also its top staff.”
Bavaria’s SPD only received 8.4 percent of the vote in the state election on October 8th, clearly undercutting its historically poor result from 2018 (9.7 percent). The failed top candidate Florian von Brunn is still head of the state association and state parliamentary group.
In terms of content, the three-day retreat of the 17 members of the state parliament was initially focused on the European elections in June. Brunn and the SPD’s leading candidate for Europe, Katharina Barley, described the election year as a “test for Democrats.” There are major tasks ahead – in addition to protecting democracy in Germany and Europe, climate protection must also be further advanced.