The SPD is in the introspection phase. Solz responsibilities, intra-party mobility and the July 3rd crash test. Chancellor Olaf Solz may have had a difficult week after the European elections due to pressing international developments with the Puglia G7 and then the Ukraine Peace Conference in Swiss resort of Burgenstock, but even before he was well and truly back in Berlin, proceedings at the Willy-Brandt-Haus, the historic seat of the Social Democrats, were busy despite the sunny Berlin Sunday.

The meeting of the executive committee of the Social Democrats to analyze the election result was imperative, given that the ruling party’s poor election result and third place behind the Far Right is not amenable to complacency. It is precisely this performance of the party, the historically lowest percentage of the Social Democrats in European elections as well as national elections, as well as Solz’s silence about the defeat almost 24 hours after the European elections, that have caused turmoil, grumbling and behind-the-scenes processes within the party, according to many reports in the German press.

These are processes and analyzes that are strongly reminiscent these days of what is happening inside the sister Greek party, PASOK KINAL, which also came third in the European elections, trailing behind SYRIZA and far behind New Democracy. Except that Solz’s Social Democrats are in power – at a tumultuous time in which Germany has changed its post-war security doctrine and is trying to redefine its strategic position in the world.

The crucial date of July 3rd

And it’s not just the 13.9% that the Social Democrats received, which is described as a “hard defeat” by top officials. What worries many executives even more is that Soltz himself had taken over the election campaign. They therefore now demand, if not to shoulder all the responsibility for the defeat, at least to immediately make a 180-degree turn in the government line, putting forward a purely social democratic agenda until the federal elections in 2025. And this especially against the Liberal finance minister Christian Lindner, which calls for respect of the debt brake in the 2025 budget and significant cuts in the “social” ministries.

The crucial date for the 2025 budget plan is set for July 3, while according to the public network ARD already on Sunday evening, immediately after the meeting of the executive committee of the Social Democrats, Olaf Solz would have a closed-door meeting with the deputy .Finance and head of the Liberals Christian Lindner as well as the vice-chancellor and Minister of Economy and Energy from the Greens Robert Hambeck. Government-level agreement on the next budget must come despite the disagreements in any case before parliament’s summer break, before the NATO Summit in Washington on July 9 and of course before September’s election contests in three key East German states, Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg, where the Alternative for Germany is ahead.

According to the tagesschau.de website, citing SPD circles, despite the still critical disagreements, no “dramatic developments” are expected in the next period either within the co-government in the context of the preparation of the budget or within the Social Democrats. Many are even warning to avoid toxic conflicts in the next period in both political fields.

Support from some, red lines from others

And while Saxon Prime Minister Stefan Weil may on Sunday have offered public support to Olaf Scholz even for a subsequent chancellor bid in 2025 on the Bericht aus Berlin show, that does not mean that this view reflects the general trend within the party.

According to press reports, at a meeting of the party’s parliamentary group last Tuesday, several executives strongly criticized Olaf Solz’s negative communication style in the European elections and expressed serious concern about his inability to convince of the government’s social democratic orientation. At the same time, there is strong criticism from the left wing of the party. In particular, the Forum DL21 platform openly sets “red lines” both towards the chancellor and in terms of party leaders for the negotiation of the budget.

“At times when the Republic is under pressure, the prices of basic goods are rising and many are barely able to make ends meet, it is wrong to make cuts. On the contrary: the state must invest massively,” says the head of the DL21 platform Jan Dieren. However, the same platform also criticizes the attitude of the young General Secretary of the party, Kevin Künert.

51% of Germans want early elections

At the same time, according to the Political Barometer of the ZDF network, German citizens do not seem convinced by the statements of Olaf Scholz at the press conference with the president of Chile Gabriel Boric on Monday afternoon that the government will be judged in the next elections, the which are scheduled for autumn 2025.

According to the new poll, 51% of respondents consider the idea of ​​early elections to be a good one. 71% of respondents negatively evaluate the performance of the three-party coalition government and only 19% consider that the ruling SPD implements its social democratic proposals.

In any case, the list of the top ten most popular politicians in Germany is indicative of the climate. First is the Social Democrat Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius, second is the Christian Democrat Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia Hendrick Wist, third is the head of the Christian Socialists and the Prime Minister of Bavaria, Markus Zender. Next are the head of the Christian Democrats Friedrich Merz, Sarah Wagenknecht with her new personal party, the Liberal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner, the Vice Chancellor from the Greens Robert Hambeck, the Green Minister of Foreign Affairs Analena Burbock. In the last two positions are Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the co-president of the far-right Alternative for Germany Alice Weidel.