German liberals ‘in TURMOIL’ as SPD faces CRUSHING DEFEAT in local and European elections

The party, which is part of a coalition with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, could see its 73-year-old reign in the city-state Bremen come to an end, as local elections will be held on May 26. The SPD could also come third in the European Elections this Thursday behind the Democrats and the Greens. Thorsten Faas, a professor of politics at the Free University in Berlin, warned this could show how much the SPD is struggling in Bremen.

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He said to Politico: “Losing Bremen would send a strong symbolic signal. Clearly, the party is in turmoil.”

Located along the Weser River, Bremen has less than 700,000 residents and is one of Germany’s smallest 16 regional states.

This regions also has the biggest employment rate in the country at nearly 10 percent.

This is around twice the national average and is thought to have partly been caused by the decline of industry during the 1980s.

One of the biggest struggles the SPD has faced in the Hanseatic city is the collapse of the shipbuilding industry.

This has reportedly put a lot of working class and organised labour movements off the party.

Germany’s Europe Minister Michael Roth said: “Our electorate changed a lot.

“Traditionally, workers voted for Social Democratic parties but in times of globalisation the social structure in Germany has changed.”

Björn Tschöpe, who leads the SPD group in the state parliament, believes Social Democrats are “in crisis” all over Europe.

He said: “In France, the Netherlands, and even in the social democratic utopia of Sweden, Social Democratic ideas are under pressure in Europe.”

But it seems not all centre-left parties are facing the same struggles in other European countries.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez just won a general election and the Swedish Social Democrats also held onto power during the elections last year.

But another reason being blamed for the SPD’s struggles is the coalition with Mrs Merkel’s conservative party.

Some say this has “blurred their identity” and resulted in the SPS taking the flack for some of Mrs Merkel’s unpopular decisions.

Mr Tschöpe said at least half of the residents in Bremen that speaks to always complain about national politics.

He said: “In Germany, we have a problem with our coalition with the conservatives. That’s an accelerator for the decline.”

source: express.co.uk