Which organization protecting the interests of citizens has Germany created? The Social Democratic Party was founded precisely with these goals. Its direction is often confused with the socialist or communist construction of society, but this is a fallacy. The Social Democratic Party of Germany, whose program is based on left-wing ideology, has managed to adapt to new political trends. She accepted capitalism as the main lever for the progressive development of society, supported the integration of Germany into the European Union, and established relations with NATO.
The successful degeneration of the main dogmas over the course of more than 150 years of existence allowed the organization to remain in power and actively transform the country.
History of occurrence
What has the Social Democratic Party of Germany brought to the history of its country?
The organization dates back to 1863. The famous businessman from Leipzig Ferdinand Lassalle founded the association of German workers. Having united their efforts, they began to defend their rights among businessmen - owners of large companies, which often exploited workers. The German Workers Association became the progenitor of the trade union movement
During the period of the German Empire from 1917 to 1918, the movement numbered about a million citizens, and in the 1919 elections, this party was supported by a third of the German population.
After Germany lost in World War I, the Social Democratic Party split into two. In 1918, supporters of the ideology of Marx and the world socialist revolution called their organization communist. And the Social Democrats themselves, led by Friedrich Ebert, reunited with the liberal part and the conservatives to suppress the hotbeds of communist uprisings.
From 1929 until Hitler came to power, the Social Democrats alternately won the election, making up either the majority or the minority in parliament. Due to the fact that the party has always been able to adapt to new trends in politics, it has remained in the political arena for many years. Even during the rule of the Third Reich, the Social Democrats held semi-legal congresses at which they discussed their plans for the future development of Germany.
What caused the change in the traditional views of the Social Democrats in the 50s of the last century?
A sharp change in traditional views falls on 1950. A large number of German citizens are tired of the notorious rhetoric about the confrontation of classes, inequality of people and the idea of nationalization of industrial enterprises. There was euphoria in the air from the end of World War II and the accession to NATO and the European Union.
The Social Democratic Party of Germany, whose program was revised in 1956, looked at the problem of building a socialist society through a new prism. The new ideology has become a symbiosis of a capitalist and socially oriented economy.
The Social Democratic Party of Germany, whose ideology became somewhat updated, in 1959 created a new Godesberg program. In it, the SPD fully accepted the market economy, agreed to a Western orientation and the revival of the German army. Along with this, the program spoke of the need to abolish capitalism and create a state of social welfare.
Party Achievements
The Social Democratic Party of the Social Democratic Party twice achieved major success in the political arena.
The first time this happened in 1969, when, thanks to the elections, a new government was formed under the leadership of Willy Brandt. The head of the organization entered the tablets of history after kneeling in front of the monument to the victims of fascism in Poland. He managed to find a common language with the Soviet government and eastern neighbors.
After Brandt in 1998, a new leader appeared. The German Social Democratic Party (SPD) was led by Gerhard Schroeder, who formed a coalition with the Greens. Schroeder's program was intended to reduce unemployment and improve the social package for German citizens. But his reforms were not implemented.
After 2009, the Social Democrats were replaced by another political party - Christian Democrats.
Of course, the Social Democratic Party made an undeniable contribution to the development of Germany. It was she who achieved the reduction of the working day to 8 hours. Unions received the right to negotiate with managers of large enterprises, and women were able to take part in the elections. The Social Democrats played a large role in increasing wages and increasing social benefits.
The great advantage of the organization was that it always advocated for the freedom of citizens, while not trying to follow the construction of a society following the Soviet model.
Party political flexibility
The Social Democratic Party of Germany has always sought to find a common language with its competitors. The ability to build relationships with opponents made it possible for its members to occupy leading government posts and implement their social programs.
Social Democrats today
Today we can say with confidence that the Social Democrats are not enjoying their former popularity. Their activities are in crisis. It seems that the time has come to carry out fundamental transformations in their program. If this does not happen, who knows if the organization will exist in the future?
It is interesting that the Social Democratic Party of Germany is very successful in the territory of the CIS countries and Eastern Europe. Their foundation implements many civic and cultural programs. Activities are carried out in countries such as Poland, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
What is the current situation of such an organization as the Social Democratic Party of Germany? The year 2016, namely the parliamentary elections in September, showed that the Christian Democrats and Social Democrats suffered a political fiasco. For both parties, the election results were the worst result over the past decades: the SPD gained 21.6%, and the CDU - 17.6%.
The modern ideology of the German Social Democrats
So what kind of organization does the Social Democratic Party of Germany have? It can be summarized in the following theses:
- comply with the principles of social equality and justice;
- protect the rights of citizens;
- to give citizens equal rights;
- make the economy oriented towards social needs;
- limit state regulation of the economy;
- to support enterprises of state importance that could become worthy competitors to private enterprises;
- nationalize large industrial enterprises, in particular the military, aerospace and oil refining sectors;
- ensure social partnership between employers and workers;
- build a state where all citizens will be socially protected;
- protect the economic rights of workers;
- raise the minimum wage level;
- eradicate unemployment;
- improve working conditions;
- optimize social protection levers.
The organization has been following this line for many years.
Who is currently leading the organization?
Who leads the Social Democratic Party of Germany? Today, she is led by a major politician, Sigmar Gabrielle. From 1999 to 2003, he served as prime minister in Lower Saxony. From 2001 to 2009, he was appointed Minister of Environmental Protection and Nuclear Safety.
On November 13, 2009 he headed the Social Democratic Party of Germany. In 2013, he was appointed Minister of Economics and Energy.
Social Democratic Party through the eyes of political scientists
What, according to political scientists, is the Social Democratic Party of Germany today? Most political experts believe that the political landscape of Germany is undergoing fundamental changes. The elections held in March showed that the ruling circles of the coalition did not enjoy the same success with voters. This primarily affected the Social Democratic Party. In fact, the voters did not take the economic growth as the criterion of assessment, but a failure in humanitarian policy - the relocation of a huge flow of refugees from the East.
The elections have become a clear indicator of the dissatisfaction of the vast majority of the population with the fact that their country has become a huge refugee camp. The massive refusal to accept immigrants from countries such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other European states only aggravated the already difficult situation. The inability of the German authorities to reflect the attacks of refugees on German citizens determined the successful promotion of AFD in the March land elections.
If the CDU / CSU, according to observers, has a chance to regain its lost position, then the Social Democrats do not expect such an opportunity. The party loses its supporters from year to year. Many political scientists see the reason for the fact that over the past 15 years of its existence, the organization has not created a single constructive plan of action.
The Social Democratic Party of Germany began to lose its popularity since 2000, which was an indicator of the underlying problems that exist within the organization. The Social Democrats are trying to explain the electoral failures due to high competition in the political arena. Many believe that the decline in their rating was due to the emergence of new “green” leftists. Since the end of the 90s of the last century, a drop in the level of voters' trust in three traditional parties has been felt: conservatives (CDU / CSU), liberals (FDP) and socialists (SPD). Over the past twenty-five years, many new political trends have appeared, which allowed German citizens to more carefully determine their priorities.
The famous political scientist Franz Walter, whose specialization is the study of the political situation in Germany, believes that the separation of political programs has shaken the position of the Social Democrats, and the "green" left could gain greater confidence among citizens. At the same time, conservative programs, according to the expert, remain an advantage of Christian democrats and Christian socialists. They have no serious competitors.
What was the starting point of the crisis?
It all started back in 1972, when Willy Brandt proclaimed the party’s renunciation of the role of defender of the interests of the working population. He proclaimed a policy of support for the new center. Since 2000, many voters have begun to associate their future with parties of a different kind.
The crisis trends in the organization were also felt during the reign of Gerhard Schröder, and the economic crisis that arose in Germany at that time only aggravated the negative directed against the Social Democrats. The Bundestag adopted the new reform program Agenda 2010, which allowed reducing social expenses: unemployment benefits were canceled, and the retirement age increased to 67 years. All this disrupted the connection between the Social Democratic Party and the trade unions and their main supporters, the workers.
The chairman of the German trade union movement, Michael Sommer, in an interview with Spiegel magazine in 2014 openly stated that the policy of the Social Democrats had ceased to be in the interests of working people.
Many experts believe that the downgrade of such a large organization as the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) is caused by the absence of a bright leader like Willy Brandt or, at worst, Gerhard Schroeder. Its modern leaders are successful party workers. With all this, they are not able to become the face of the organization, as they lack progressive ideas that can inspire voters. This causes apathy in citizens. Many political scientists believe that the separation of the position of leader and candidate for the post of Chancellor became a serious mistake. What role does the Social Democratic Party of Germany play? The leader Sigmar Gabrielle, according to experts, is trying to hold the chair and avoid responsibility for the defeat in the elections.
The organization’s crisis was caused by a decrease in the number of its members from 1 million people to 450 thousand over 30 years and a decrease in the age indicator from 30 to 59 years due to the growth of the group of pensioners. In parallel with this, it is also noted that the ideas of the Social Democrats did not gain popularity among the young generation of Germany. All this will cause a further reduction in the number of party members.
Relations of the Social Democratic Party of Germany with Russia
After the Western countries introduced sanctions against our country, the volume of trade between Russia and Germany decreased significantly. The first half of this year was marked by a decline in trade by 13%. German exports to our country fell to around 20%. The loss of the German economy is 12.2 billion euros.
According to representatives of the German Ministry of Economy, the reason for the crisis in economic relations lies in the precarious situation of the ruble and a decrease in the purchasing power of Russians.
Vice-Chancellor of Germany Sigmar Gabriel met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 22, 2016. Many newspapers wrote about the results of a two-day stay of a German politician in Russia. The meeting is assessed ambiguously.
What can be said about such an organization as the Social Democratic Party of Germany? She has a loyal attitude towards Russia. Vice-Chancellor of Germany Sigmar Gabriel spoke for establishing contacts with our country. In his opinion, the exclusion of Russia from the G8 was a gross mistake. At the same time, he notes that our state should strictly adhere to the Minsk agreements in order to resolve the crisis in Ukraine.
Gabriel spoke out against toughening anti-Russian sanctions at the beginning of 2015. In his opinion, Russia should sit at the negotiating table, and not put pressure on it with economic measures. In April 2012, Gabriel openly expressed his opinion that Germany needs Russia as a major trading partner. True, the position of the vice chancellor does not affect the mood of all of Germany too much.
Vice Chancellor believes that the international community should look for ways to cooperate with Russia, and not to aggravate an already difficult situation. The Social Democrat also spoke out about the fact that the isolation of our country with a parallel request to the Kremlin to assist in resolving the conflict in Syria is devoid of any logic.
German press criticizes vice chancellor
Gabriel's visit to Moscow caused a flurry of indignation in the German press long before this trip. Many journalists noted that the Kremlin uses German politicians to demonstrate its influence. FAZ newspaper columnist Friedrich Schmidt wrote that Moscow is trying to present the visits of its European neighbors as proof that it is not in an isolated position.
The vice-chancellor held a press conference with German journalists on September 22 at the Ritz Carlton. It seems that the politician expected such a turn and got ahead of them, saying that today he held consultations with Russian human rights defenders. According to Russian politicians, his arrival does not play into the Kremlin’s hands at all, and representatives of Western countries should visit Russia more often, since any meetings help smooth out existing contradictions. Gabriel assured reporters that he was not trying to echo the politicians of our country.
Is it economics or politics?
Gabrielle met with Russian human rights activist Daniil Katkov from the Parnas party, Galina Mikhaleva from Yabloko and Grigory Melkonyants from the non-profit organization Golos. The German Minister discussed violations in the elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation. There was also a discussion about neglect of the principles of democracy in our country.
According to the German politician, many Russian political parties were simply not allowed to vote, pressure was exerted on freedom of speech. But the discussion by the vice chancellor of these topics was superficial. In the dialogue, he tried to convey that the main purpose of his visit was not political, but economic problems.
A large group of German entrepreneurs came to work with the vice chancellor, who collaborate with Russian businessmen. The meeting was attended by Michael Harms, Executive Director of the East Committee for German Economy, and Siegfried Russwurm, Siemens Board Member. It was the interests of these two large businessmen that Gabriel represented at a meeting with our country's leader Vladimir Putin and the Russian Minister of Industry and Economic Development.
Gabriel several times emphasized that the fate of the 5600 German companies that operate in Russia is the main excitement. The issue of legal regulation of investments was discussed, as well as the ban on imports. All this adversely affected not only the interests of companies, but also their employees.
According to Gabriel, it is impossible to talk only about economic problems, but not to touch them would be a big mistake, since after the imposition of sanctions, there has been a rapid reduction in jobs both in our country and in Germany.
At a meeting with Russian ministers, the question was raised about how to reduce the degree of our state’s dependence on resources, as well as support small and medium businesses.
Elections in Crimea and sanctions
When touching on political topics, the head of the Social Democratic Party of Germany Gabriel tried to avoid harsh criticism of our country. Regarding the issue of foreign policy related to elections in the Crimea, the vice chancellor noted here that the Social Democratic Party takes a position similar to other parties about the illegality of such a step. Holding elections in Crimea is contrary to international law and is considered annexation. Elections in Crimea, in his opinion, are illegal. And the problem lies not in the elections themselves, but in the events that preceded them.
