After Kevin Kühnert was promoted to SPD General Secretary, it almost seemed as if the Jusos would fall silent. Now his successor wants to stop. Two applicants compete for their successor.
Who hasn’t been a Juso boss? Andrea Nahles, Gerhard Schröder, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, and Kevin Kühnert. The latter in particular has shown very clearly what the Jusos are capable of: driving a party in front of them.
When the SPD appointed the chancellor in 2021 and many young SPD MPs moved into the Bundestag, some older MPs from the more conservative wing of the party were afraid: the young, wild Jusos are now moving into parliament and stirring up everything. Who’s coming, one could hear it murmuring in Berlin. 49 of the 206 SPD deputies were actually under 35 and counted as Jusos simply because of their age.
In fact, however, there was no leftist revolution in Parliament. The newly elected Juso Chairwoman Jessica Rosenthal was also not particularly noticeable in view of the enormous challenges: debates about vaccination in the pandemic and above all the war in Ukraine and the 100 billion special fund for the Bundeswehr announced by the Chancellor brought some Just start pondering – but nothing more.
Rosenthal, as an elected member of parliament and Juso chairman, often seemed caught between her offices, and Kühnert’s footsteps also proved to be too big. He could rail against his party in the grand coalition, against the Union-led government. Rosenthal did not have this luxury in her chancellor party. There was hardly any room for rebellion, and so the Jusos became quieter and quieter.
“Pushing back right-wing and conservative narratives”
Now the Jusos want to get louder again – that unites the two who are positioning themselves for Rosenthal’s successor. In any case, Philipp Türmer appears loud and bold. He is 27 years old, comes from the southern district of Hesse, first studied economics, then law and is currently doing his doctorate in criminal law. He placed sentences in the media about how he wanted to “shake up” the chancellor and openly criticized Interior Minister Nancy Faeser’s course on asylum policy. He doesn’t seem to care that she wants to become SPD prime minister in Hesse and is in the middle of an election campaign. It is now about sharpening the profile of the Jusos.
Philipp Türmer wants to “shake the chancellor awake”.
For Türmer, getting louder means becoming more independent, more independent of the party and more critical, he explains in an interview with the ARD Capital Studio. But it’s not just about the party or the traffic light. “It’s about being perceived again as a left-wing social force in the social debate and, in particular, pushing back the right-wing and conservative narratives,” says Türmer.
The candidate for the Juso presidency has been on the Juso board for six years. He has established his networks, but: how credible are his statements about sharpening the profile of the Jusos towards more distributive justice when he has already been on the executive committee for six years?
“Getting Jusos back on the road”
His opponent, Sarah Mohamed, also wants to make the Jusos louder. For her, being loud means getting the Jusos back on the streets, as an active part of a left-wing movement like her ARD Capital Studio told. Mohamed grew up in the Ruhr area, she is 31 years old and studied history and philosophy in Bonn. She worked for Rosenthal for a while, both come from the same SPD state association.
Unlike her opponent, she does not have many years of SPD committee experience, but has her roots in Antifa and refugee aid. She only joined the SPD in 2017 in response to the AfD moving into the Bundestag. Party work seems less important to her, she would rather tap into and expand the grassroots strength of the Jusos.
Sarah Mohamed wants to tap into and expand the grassroots strength of the Jusos.
Mohamed also promises SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz that there will be more friction and more debate. Above all, the subject of basic child security makes them angry. That there is even a discussion about the fact that money has to be made available for poor children. She herself experienced poverty as a child. Her mother was a single parent, Mohamed and her five siblings lived on Hartz IV.
What also upsets her: dealing with refugees. Interior Minister Faeser’s migration and asylum policy, keyword “clan criminals and the rigid deportation rhetoric” – the Jusos need it here to show “that it doesn’t work that way”.
Türmer and Mohamed are very much in agreement in rejecting the SPD interior minister – even if she is not as bold as he is. She was able to convince her own regional association in North Rhine-Westphalia. Mohamed was elected candidate today and sent into the race to give the Jusos a loud voice again as Rosenthal’s successor.