analysis
As of: 08.11.2021 9:57 a.m.
With the move from Klingbeil to the SPD party leadership, the conservative Seeheimer Kreis would regain influence. But that also makes another persona likely – which for Chancellor Scholz is quite explosive.
There must be something to the story of the “new SPD”. This “new SPD” tries, unlike the old one, to clear away potential conflict quickly and quietly. And as you can see from the question of the party chairmanship, she does it very well. The SPD chairmanship has shown often enough in the past what explosive power it has. And this time, too, there could have been turbulence. Now, however, Lars Klingbeil, currently Secretary General of the party, is to run the business together with the previous co-chair, Saskia Esken.
The Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig, who was also in the conversation, took herself out of the game and said she supported a dual leadership with Esken and Klingbeil, with which the generation change would be heralded.
Two wings for the top
Esken (60) and Klingbeil (43) come from opposing wings of the SPD, they come from the left of the party, Klingbeil from the conservative Seeheimers, who have clearly lost volume and impact in the current SPD. Since the chief Seeheimer Johannes Kahrs left the Bundestag last year, at least in public, little has been heard from the Seeheimer Kreis.
Klingbeil is also not someone who gets on with it, but rather a mediator and moderator. He was largely responsible for the unity of the SPD in the election campaign. When the party was firmly cemented at 15 percent, that earned him the reputation of being too “soft” even from within its own ranks. Klingbeil, however, did not seem to mind that much – and the success ultimately proved him right. The successful election campaign is largely due to him.
Klingbeil as a guarantee for stability
As the head of the SPD, he will have to pursue this course of reconciliation for the SPD. Above all, he must ensure that the party left does not set off on a riot course to a Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Despite the election victory, Scholz is no less suspicious of the Jusos, even if left-wing demands such as minimum wages and stable pensions are non-negotiable for the SPD in the traffic light coalition talks.
The party left will watch a Chancellor Scholz with eagle eyes – for example if Scholz should act too pragmatically. Once Scholz has been elected Chancellor, the inner-party keep peace can quickly become fragile.
Bold as Secretary General
This is where a third personality comes into play, which, at least for Chancellor Scholz, is quite explosive. If Klingbeil is elected as co-boss alongside Esken, the position of general secretary has to be filled. And even if the women in the SPD loudly call for a general secretary, much points in one direction.
Because although Esken and Walter-Borjans were at the head of the party, the secret leader was someone else. Ex-Juso boss and party vice Kevin Kühnert was the man in the background, without him little or nothing went. Kühnert will certainly be expected in this very difficult constellation between parliamentary group, party leadership and the Chancellery. Bold as General Secretary would be in the spirit of Saskia Esken and the Jusos. They make up a quarter of the MPs in the new SPD parliamentary group. Even if not all Jusos are automatically to be located radically on the left.
Kühnert and Klingbeil – an unusual alliance
The designated co-boss Klingbeil and Kühnert, on the other hand, come from diametrically different camps. But both Klingbeil and Kühnert have shown remarkable flexibility in the past. They share their love for the FC Bayern soccer club and chat amicably in a joint podcast, which is unpretentiously called “the K question”.
Klingbeil would have a sparring partner at eye level in Kühnert, and if the designated chairman and Saskia Esken should actually speak out for Kühnert, Scholz would not be able to ignore the rebellious ex-Juso plaintext writer. After all, Kühnert appears – this has recently been observed – at least on the outside less aggressive than in Juso times.
In any case, from the Willy Brandt House, the SPD party headquarters, one can hear that the course has been set in the direction of Kühnert. After all, as an ex-Juso boss and party vice president, he has had an office there for a long time and would only have to move a few doors further.