As the MS Havel Queen sets sail on Lake Tegel, the Berlin sky clears. At least the weather brings a little luck to the Social Democrats who are gathering on board on this June evening. They don’t have much of that at the moment: the party’s prospects are certainly not good just a few days before the European elections.
In surveys, the SPD is at 14 percent. Such a poor result should really revive the trauma of 2019, when the Social Democrats fell to a record low of 15.8 percent in the European elections. But there can be no talk of gloom among the comrades this evening. The mood on board is exuberant, as if the SPD had just achieved one success after another. And that is also part of the good tradition here – because it is that time again: the Seeheim asparagus cruise is coming up.
Since 1961, the Seeheimer Circle, the conservative wing of the SPD, has been inviting people to an annual asparagus cruise. It is not just the boat trip that is traditional, but also the hard asparagus, which is at least still edible this time. But here, no one is bothered by culinary finesse. This year, the Social Democrats are largely keeping to themselves anyway.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz gives a speech at the start that sounds like he is in election campaign mode and receives a lot of applause for it. He is currently setting and highlighting the usual topics: the most important is the principle of “prudence” in the war in Ukraine. Scholz believes that this principle is being upheld even now that the federal government has deviated from its previous course and allowed Ukraine, under certain conditions, to use German weapons against targets on Russian territory.
“Borders must not be moved by force,” the Chancellor repeats the sentence he always says when it comes to Ukraine. And he adds again: An expansion of the war must be prevented.
But the SPD is not only making peace a priority in its European election campaign – without it being clear what the path to peace might look like in the foreseeable future. The Social Democrats also never tire of emphasizing their strict distancing from right-wing extremism. “Live in such a way that the AfD has something against it”: that must be the SPD’s motto, stressed Dirk Wiese, spokesman for the Seeheimer Circle, in his welcoming speech.
Scholz also warns against a “rollback” of right-wing extremist forces and appeals to the European Union not to rely on right-wing nationalist parties. He says this is “bitterly serious”.
Katarina Barley, the European lead candidate, then calls things by their name and is outraged at EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who no longer rules out cooperation with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni from the right-wing nationalist party Fratelli d’Italia. “The firewall has been crumbling for a long time,” says Barley. However, the Social Democrat does not explain how it is possible to contain the rise of these right-wing populist forces.
In their speeches, the Social Democrats repeatedly stress how important the internal cohesion of society is. This also means internal peace, says Scholz: “Freedom applies to all of us.” His deepest sympathy goes out to the relatives of the police officer who was killed in Mannheim after a knife attack in the street. All means of the rule of law will be used against those who declare war on democracy. The Chancellor explicitly lists the entire spectrum: Islamism, right-wing extremism, left-wing extremism.
The comrades applaud each other, confirm that they are on the right path and are now literally circumventing all the problems that exist not only within the SPD but also in the traffic light coalition.
The Social Democrats have recently made a number of advances towards the FDP. In an interview with WELT AM SONNTAG, SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert paid tribute to the Liberals for remaining in the coalition at all. And Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil had just announced that he would introduce a tax bonus for everyone who wants to work beyond retirement age. The Liberals promptly welcomed this initiative, which Heil said could relieve the state coffers by billions.
But there is no sign of this on the asparagus trip. On the contrary: in her otherwise unremarkable speech, Katarina Barley attacks the Liberals head-on, accusing the FDP of running an “anti-European election campaign” and of catering to every “stupid prejudice” that exists about the EU.
Her criticism does not seem to be met with rejection by the Social Democrats. Was the new friendliness towards the FDP more show than substance? In any case, it will hardly help the SPD, as an agreement on the budget dispute is still pending. The FDP will probably do everything in its power not to lose the last shred of credibility as an economically liberal party in this dispute.
The short speech by Franz Müntefering, now 84 years old, a long-time Social Democrat and minister in the cabinets of Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel, is a reminiscence of better times. He recalls the value of democracy, the history of Germany and the European Union.
He doesn’t say much, and yet he embodies something that moves everyone here. “I am proud of my party,” says Müntefering. He calls on his comrades to fight, but not to scare people. He receives a standing ovation for his words.
But at the latest after the asparagus trip is over, the Social Democrats will be caught up in reality again. Of course, everyone is calling on each other to “roll up their sleeves” and give everything for the final spurt in the European election campaign. But it is more than doubtful that they will find their way out of their deep crisis by then and really understand why they have lost so many voters, even after this tour of Lake Tegel.
