A birthday like this is always an occasion for anecdotes. Lars Klingbeil puts the SPD’s constant quarrels with itself in a nutshell: “I still remember how, as a young, dynamic member of parliament, I came to a local meeting and we had just decided on the minimum wage,” says the SPD leader. He was incredibly proud. And then he only heard nagging, too many exceptions, all too little. “That’s typical social democracy.” That you can’t even pat yourself on the back for five minutes and say: “Great, we got that through – that drives me crazy.”
There is a big crowd in the Willy-Brandt-Haus on this Monday evening, the motto is “Progress needs justice”. On red banners, which are distributed over several floors on the balustrades in the atrium, you present yourself completely digitally. With nothing but symbols from the world of social media that are intended to outline what we have stood for for 160 years. A megaphone for calls for change. The fist for the fight for workers’ rights. The hammer as a sign of work. The umbrella to cushion times of crisis like today in terms of energy prices. The Venus symbol as a sign of equality, 16 social democratic women from 16 decades are also honored as part of the celebrations.
On May 23, 1863, Ferdinand Lassalle founded the General German Workers’ Association in Leipzig. It was the first supra-regional German workers’ party, from which the SPD emerged. Today it still has around 380,000 members and 7,223 local associations. The oldest member just turned 108 and the longest surviving membership is 78 years. As chairmen, Lars Klingbeil and Saskia Esken may be overshadowed by some of their great predecessors, but they are constantly working on the topics of rejuvenation and unity, making life easier for Chancellor Olaf Scholz, at least with his party.
“Sometimes we’re not the shrillest and loudest.”
“Sometimes we’re not the shrillest and loudest, but we’ve always managed to build bridges into society,” says Klingbeil. Esken calls for a new educational awakening and a democratic design of digitization. “It’s up to us to create the conditions so that everyone can go their own way,” she says, “regardless of whether they want to become a construction worker, teacher, influencer, industrial worker, professor, architect or politician. In any case: happy.”
The young East German MP Rasha Nasr, daughter of Syrian immigrants, is symbolic of the change in membership. Klingbeil emphasizes how times have changed as a result of the Internet, and the constant pressure politicians are under to constantly have to react immediately. Konrad Adenauer still maintained the tradition of the afternoon nap, and: “You might not get away with the political style of Willy Brandt or Helmut Schmidt today.”
The SPD is often ridiculed for its history, but these celebrations also show how it draws strength from it. And always shaped by special people. Franz Müntefering, who cannot be present after an operation, is awarded the August Bebel Prize for his life’s work. The election campaigner Günter Grass once stated that the historical knowledge of the SPD could be expanded in young candidates; precisely to understand the social-democratic identity. Treasurer Dietmar Nietan makes it clear that historical knowledge is still needed in order to understand and change the laws of exploitation and oppression: “If you don’t know history, it’s difficult for you to find a point of view for orientation in the future. “
The story is dealt with in a snappy video
The story is dealt with in a snappy video at the official ceremony, where attempts are also made to find contact with someone who has not been invited. The red-green period under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is acknowledged as a time of social upheaval, the time after the chancellorship prefers to be ignored. Schröder’s successor, Chancellor Scholz, who received much applause, goes into Schröder briefly, but extremely sparingly. “The historically based tension between high programmatic demands – some would say: utopian excess – and the need to act pragmatically has always shaped social democracy,” he says in his speech.
“This tension marked the terms of office of Willy Brandt and Helmut Schmidt – and also that of Gerhard Schröder.” The pragmatist Schmidt was therefore not quite right when he pointed out Brandt that anyone who has visions should go to the doctor, says Scholz. “It was a snotty answer to a stupid question,” said Schmidt, who distanced himself from it. There’s even laughter. The Schmidt sentence cannot be gotten rid of, Scholz has so far tended to use catchphrases such as “double boom” that have stuck.
In principle, this chancellorship has so far been phenotypical for the history of the SPD. Epoch breaks, adapting to the new era, questioning positions. Since – with China’s influence – from Scholz’s point of view the nuclear threat from Russia has decreased, he has shown more courage in supplying arms and tanks to Ukraine. Now he makes a clear announcement that the distance to Russia friend Schröder could hardly be greater: It is “inevitable that we support the Ukrainian nation in its brave defensive struggle (…) with all our might: humanitarian. Economic. With weapons . And above all: in the long term,” says Scholz. Russia must not and will not win the war. “This bitter chapter in the history of our continent, conjured up by Vladimir Putin in his imperialist madness, will end with free Ukraine joining the European Union as a full member,” predicts Scholz.
But of course he cannot hide the present in his difficult coalition. And manages to span the arc to the entire story, using the example of the dispute over the heating law. He reminds of the Ahr Valley disaster, the pictures are currently from Italy: “It doesn’t stop anymore.” But without a handrail, in this case financial support, it will not work from his point of view. “We know: Security through change and security in change – both belong together,” says Scholz, summing up the historical claim of social democracy. And can not resist a tip against the Greens. This is not an issue for a very specific party, “as some still think.” This is about an existential transformation – but from his point of view it depends on the type of implementation.