For almost three decades, things have only gone downhill for the SPD in Bavaria in elections. This was also due to the fact that the few remaining deputies were more concerned with defending their benefices against internal party competition than with winning new voters. It was difficult for young candidates. In this respect, it is an opportunity for the SPD that, after the debacle of 2018 and the resignation of Natascha Kohnen, they have to compete with new faces in the upcoming state elections in the Munich district. Precisely because they may not be protected by the list and have little chance of entering parliament.
In the north, it will probably be Florian Schardt, who, shortly after being elected sub-district chairman in 2020, also took over the leadership of the district parliamentary group and quickly gained in profile. In the south, the 33-year-old Taufkirchner local chair Christine Himmelberg, who has not yet proven herself in municipal committees, is now positioning herself. But that doesn’t have to be a disadvantage. Because she brings in other political and professional experiences that are perhaps more important to understand the reality of life and the problems of younger people in an urban environment.
Both have nothing to lose personally. And things can only get better for the SPD, which just got a double-digit result in the state election four years ago. The federal election showed that the SPD can still win elections, even if the typical social-democratic milieu no longer exists. It helps when others make mistakes. But above all, it is important that your candidates fight for every vote and give people the feeling that what is at stake is a common cause – and not primarily their own mandate, which is assigned via the list anyway.