2024-06-20 07:18:25
The favored head of presidency is leaving, as is the top of the regional affiliation – days of chaos for the SPD in Rhineland-Palatinate? Not essentially. Some comrades see the change as a possibility.
Historic defeat within the European elections, an unpopular SPD chancellor, a looming revolt within the get together: the Social Democrats are stumbling greater than they’ve for a very long time. This Wednesday morning, the extra dangerous information got here: long-standing Prime Minister Marie-Luise Dreyer is resigning from her submit.
Video | Right here Malu Dreyer declares her resignation
Within the afternoon, the favored SPD politician introduced her resignation. At a press convention, she spoke of a “troublesome resolution”. Through the election marketing campaign, she observed that her power was finite: “My batteries do not recharge as shortly anymore.” The 63-year-old suffers from a number of sclerosis and made this sickness public a few years in the past. Her successor would be the present state labor and social affairs minister, Alexander Schweitzer, who can also be a member of the SPD government committee.
With Malu Dreyer, the SPD has misplaced an essential anchor of stability. And within the midst of its greatest disaster since 2021. Whereas the federal get together has been languishing at 15 % for months, there have been nonetheless steady majorities in at the very least a number of the red-governed states. In Rhineland-Palatinate, the Social Democrats constantly achieved over 35 % within the final state elections. A consequence that get together leaders Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil in Berlin can solely dream of. Dreyer, who has been in authorities since 2013, managed for a few years to protect her state SPD from the weak point of the federal get together.
Crucial voices are additionally combined in with the quite a few hymns of reward for Dreyer’s life’s work. The SPD has additionally misplaced floor in Rhineland-Palatinate lately. The results of the European elections was additionally deplorable right here: with 17.5 % of the vote, the Social Democrats reached a brand new, historic low in Rhineland-Palatinate. Within the native elections that came about on the similar time, they have been at the very least in a position to preserve their consequence from final time (22 %).
The truth that the comrades in Rhineland-Palatinate have been in disaster for a while was proven by a gathering of the Rhineland-Palatinate members of the Bundestag with the chairman of the regional affiliation, Roger Lewentz, on Tuesday. As members within the spherical reported to t-online, the election defeat on June 9 was dissected there. “The posters have been dangerous, the messages questionable, your complete group of the election marketing campaign unprofessional,” one participant within the spherical summed up his criticism.
As well as, a number of members of the Rhineland-Palatinate regional group have made it clear that they anticipate “new impulses” from the SPD in Rhineland-Palatinate. The Rhineland-Palatinate regional affiliation says that Dreyer has centered an excessive amount of on points equivalent to social participation and equality, whereas neglecting industrial, labor market and migration coverage.
The SPD Rhineland-Palatinate has been discussing the query of how the get together desires to place itself for the longer term for a while. The get together doesn’t have a lot time left to do that: the federal election is in autumn 2025, and simply six months later the state parliament in Rhineland-Palatinate may even be re-elected – a type of everlasting election marketing campaign that begins in spring subsequent yr. To this finish, the SPD not solely desires to reposition itself strategically, but additionally make personnel modifications.
As was additionally introduced on Wednesday, this impacts not solely the top of presidency, but additionally the management of the state affiliation: Roger Lewentz, who needed to hearken to the frustration of the MPs the day earlier than, can also be resigning from his submit. The brand new state chairwoman might be Sabine Bätzing-Lichtenthäler, the SPD parliamentary group chief within the state parliament. Lewentz was solely confirmed as chairwoman for the subsequent two years in November 2023; he was supposed to organize the get together for the transition.
Now it is over after simply seven months. Along with the top of presidency, the top of the regional affiliation can also be leaving – days of chaos for the SPD in Rhineland-Palatinate? The deputy chief of the SPD parliamentary group and Rhineland-Palatinate member of the Bundestag, Verena Hubertz, disagrees. “The transition was orchestrated collectively,” Hubertz instructed t-online. The defeat within the European elections was “disastrous,” however didn’t hasten Dreyer’s resignation.
However it’s questionable whether or not the transition was really orchestrated on this manner. Internally, the SPD Rhineland-Palatinate says that the dialogue about Malu Dreyer and her plans for the longer term has been happening for months. A member of the Rhineland-Palatinate regional affiliation says that Dreyer’s resignation deserves “respect”, however that it was additionally acquired with “aid”. Now it’s time to get the get together prepared for the subsequent election campaigns.