For the first time since Corona, the SPD is holding a party conference in full attendance. Their situation is precarious after the severe blows. And Olaf Scholz, who is supposed to encourage people, is himself in crisis.
At the last major federal party conference of the Social Democrats with 600 delegates, Olaf Scholz still had to be comforted. Quite a few feared that he, then Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister, might quit. Speaker after speaker paid him respect and praised his efforts in the grand coalition. That was in December 2019. A few days earlier, Scholz had learned in the Willy Brandt House that the members did not want him and Klara Geywitz as the new chairwoman. “I think the SPD has made a decision,” he said at the time, appearing petrified.