Explorations: What the party’s offspring want

They are young, loud – and their word certainly carries weight. The more serious the exploratory talks become, the stronger the party’s youth organizations position themselves. What do you actually want?

Coalition negotiations are not yet underway, but the parties’ youth organizations are speaking out more and more clearly. The Jusos have made it clear that they want to sit at the table during the negotiations. The Green Youth wants to vote against a Jamaica coalition at the weekend. The Young Liberals show support for the party leadership’s traffic light course. And even if the Union is only allowed to watch the explorations for the time being, the Junge Union positions itself unequivocally: It should be loud at Germany Day in a week’s time.

Jusos: The new power

When the new SPD parliamentary group met for the first time in the week after the election and the newly elected MPs introduced themselves to their colleagues, many of the established ones were enthusiastic. No matter where you asked around in the SPD, the new, younger parliamentary group received rapturous praise.

49 MPs aged up to 35 years are now part of the SPD parliamentary group. Significantly more than in the previous legislative period. 49 of 206 – almost a quarter of the faction officially belongs to the Jusos. The Juso chairwoman Jessica Rosenthal made it into the Bundestag. That hasn’t been around for a long time either. And the newcomers make demands. Rosenthal told the “Rheinische Post” that the Jusos wanted to “bring in their weight clearly” in the formation of the government.

Kevin Kühnert, for example, could do this in terms of personnel. It is difficult to imagine that the ex-Juso boss, who has meanwhile risen to the position of deputy party chairman, will not play a role in coalition negotiations. He is and remains the fixed point of the young social democrats. In the parliamentary group, the young group rallies around him. The Juso MPs should become a power factor there. But not just to implement particularly left-wing politics, they say. Instead, it is about bringing in the perspectives of young people and sticking together, especially on issues that are important to this age group.

Much more will not be possible, because the almost 50 Juso MPs are by no means all from one camp. Around two thirds are more on the left, it is said, the remaining third is more close to the pragmatists in the party and parliamentary group. But there is one thing that many of them have in common. They only entered the Bundestag because of the strong SPD result. Somehow many owe this career move to the SPD’s candidate for chancellor, Olaf Scholz. We don’t expect much gratitude – but loyalty. The Juso boss Rosenthal is accordingly optimistic. The cross with Olaf Scholz will be made with a lot of “enthusiasm”. He is the one who will implement the substantive ideas of the Jusos.

Green youth: the confident

Anna Peters, the federal spokeswoman for the Green Youth, is delighted that the talks are finally starting and then also with the SPD and the FDP. Most members of the youth organization of Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen wanted the so-called traffic light coalition, said the 25-year-old ARD capital studio. “It is okay and understandable if the Green Party leaders also keep the Jamaica option, ie a possible alliance with the Union, the Greens and the FDP, open”. This is not an option for the Green Youth. The youth organization wants to vote against the Jamaica Alliance at its federal congress in Erfurt at the weekend.

But now the focus is on the traffic lights. “Our members expect us to have a strong sounding around the issue of poverty and social justice,” said Peters. That is not easy with the SPD, but especially with the FDP. “The differences between the FDP and the Greens, but also between the Young Liberals and us, are great,” admitted Peters. You saw that again and again during the election campaign. “But we’ll keep talking, with the Jusos and the Young Liberals.” The Greens and the FDP in particular have one thing in common. Compared to the other parties, both had a significantly younger electorate. That could weld their youth organizations together.

The Green Youth is not ready to negotiate when it comes to climate protection. “For a future coalition, adherence to climate targets that make a good life possible at all must be the basis of all government action,” said the Greens federal spokesman Georg shortly before the first exploratory talks between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP.

Climate protection is also important to the new members of the Bundestag. 23 members of the Green Youth moved into the Bundestag after the election. “It’s not about being young, but about their expertise. Many have experience as climate activists,” said Federal Spokeswoman Peters. The Green Youth are therefore very self-confident about the new legislature.

The Young Liberals: On course with traffic lights

The Young Liberals support the party leadership’s traffic light course. Although the substantive differences to the SPD are greater than to the Union, one still believes that central FDP positions can also be implemented in a traffic light coalition, said Laura Staudacher, Deputy Federal Chairwoman of the Young Liberals, in an interview with the ARD capital studio. “I am very confident that everyone is willing to find even difficult compromises.” A traffic light will fail “if the FDP, Greens and SPD do not each include as many demands from their election manifestos as they consider necessary to do justice to their voters.”

The Union is to some extent to blame that the Liberals first decided to explore with the SPD and the Greens. We are currently experiencing an uncoordinated, divided union, says Staudacher. “None of this contributes to the Union giving the impression that it is capable of governing.” Against this background and the mood in the population, a large part of the FDP electorate would prefer a traffic light rather than an alliance with the Union.

But regardless of whether the government is ultimately formed by a traffic light coalition or a Jamaica coalition: The status quo should not “simply be administered,” emphasizes Staudacher. Specifically, she demands: “We want more speed in digitization – in schools, in administration, in network expansion. We finally need bigger steps in reforming educational federalism and more comparability between the federal states. And we need a reform of the pension system. “

The pension system must be organized more equitably for future generations. The Young Liberals are confident that these reforms are also at the top of the agenda of the traffic light partners SPD and Greens.

Junge Union: desire for renewal

The fact that the Greens and FDP want to speak to the SPD first has disappointed Birte Glißmann from the Junge Union a little, but not surprising. But the regional head of the JU Schleswig-Holstein says: “I still see a chance, even if it is small, for a Jamaica alliance.” That is why Glißmann, like CDU leader Armin Laschet, is in favor of the Union remaining open to talks. And she should prepare for it and formulate guidelines, the 28-year-old expects from the top of the CDU.

After the historically poor election result, the Junge Union is already urging its parent party to reposition itself. “We now need the renewal course and the Junge Union would like to contribute to it,” says Glißmann. It does not go as far, as the JU chairman Tilman Kuban put it, that no stone should be left unturned in the CDU: “But we have to change enormously.” The party must involve its members more and realign itself. There are different views in the Junge Union on which course. Some would like a more conservative course. For Glißmann, however, it is clear: “In my opinion, there can only be a sustainable CDU in the middle.”

The ailing party leader Laschet cannot rely on the support of the Junge Union, which in April spoke out in favor of Markus Söder as candidate for chancellor. Now JU boss Kuban makes it clear that young people should move up in the second row. Glißmann believes that Laschet and the current team should stay as long as there are still talks about the formation of a government: “In my opinion, it is not yet the time when you give up and get mutual accusations, or start having big personal debates.” But when the red-green-yellow coalition is in place, a staff renewal is needed.