The SPD at 20.5 percent, SPÖ one week before election in Austria in freefall, once proud socialists in France under ten percent-and even in Scandinavia, it has lost importance in recent years: what would (European) Social democracy Just as urgent as Willy Brandt?
Today, 25 years ago, first social Democratic Chancellor died in his house in Unkel in Rhineland-Palatinate. At that time, on 8 October 1992, it was not foreseeable that a figure such as Nobel Peace Prize winner of 1971 and head of German, indeed international social democracy would be so much absent.
Brandt was an exception politician. One who was in resistance to Nazis and later found himself with a former NSDAP member at helm in government. One who, in exile in Norway and Sweden, knew and appreciated socially democratic states and imported many ideas. One who with 47 years in Bundestag election campaign 1961 against 85-year-old Konrad Adenauer embodied a time of departure.
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As foreign Minister of a large coalition, Brandt also lost to Union in second attempt at 1965 with 39.3 percent, 1969 n joined third time-and became head of first social-liberal coalition. Brandt became chancellor who, with knee of Warsaw, embodied “or Germany” and tried to “change through rapprochement” in middle of Cold War.
Brandt, world’s politician
1972, SPD under him, with 45.8 percent of votes, became strongest faction in Bundestag for first time. Brandt was killed a year and a half later as chancellor by East spy Günter Guillaume. But Brandt was a world politician, also as SPD chief, continued early on with his North-South Commission for or, Fair trade relations with Africa and foresaw current migratory movements.
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From 1964 to 1987, Brandt was chairman of oldest German party-and from 1976 until his death also chief of Socialist International (SI), who today is only a shadow of her self and from which SPD under responsibility of Sigmar Gabriel long ago Has passed. Brandt’s comrades and deputies in SI were such illustrious figures as François Mitterrand, Bruno Kreisky, Olof Palme and Yitzhak Rabin. Today, names of heads of Social democratic parties of France, Austria, Sweden or Israel are much less well known.
In Germany, Martin Schulz, who had exactly two weeks to answer biggest electoral debacle of his party in post-war history. The slogan “More Justice” did not catch. Schulz’s actual issue in Europe, he almost did not touch on basis of false counselors, although in France Emmanuel Macron was able to win an impressive election victory even without a strengned party structure. Schulz, former tough EU President of European Parliament, who had so often referred to rights in this office, had just been expecting a functioning, igniting draft for United States of Europe.
But what did Schulz do in evening of crashing defeat? Under cheers of party members, he declared SPD’s Gehe-State responsibility to or fro-into opposition. What she really wants is to clarify a number of events of party that has already become thin. A powerful vision of future, however, remained in recent opposition period of SPD between 2009 and 2013, when Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled with FDP.
