The motto: “Open mic”, all questions were allowed. At an SPD event in Stuttgart there was a lot of focus on social issues. Then one request to speak received a particularly large amount of applause.
Stuttgart – At the end it’s a party. Turkish pop songs are booming from the speakers, there is dancing at the back of the hall and everyone in the front wants a selfie with Lars Klingbeil. The bath in the crowd lasts almost 40 minutes, and the SPD leader begins to seem exhausted. “My friend Macit said: Come over and I can fill the hall. He kept his promise,” says Klingbeil.
Lars Klingbeil and Macit Karaahmetoğlu debate with German Turks in Stuttgart
A good 500 people were in the Kursaal in Stuttgart on Monday evening (April 15th) to discuss with Klingbeil and the Ludwigsburg Bundestag member Macit Karaahmetoğlu for a good two hours. “Open microphone – what motivates young German Turks” was the title of the evening.
The party said they wanted to create an opportunity for an open exchange. In fact, many in the room were happy about it. Like Ramazan Öztürk, who is a teacher in Stuttgart. “When people hear my job, many of them are at first surprised or congratulate me on speaking German so well,” said the 35-year-old. Even though he was born here, he doesn't always feel 100 percent at home in Germany. “A conversation like this evening can help change that.”
SPD ahead of European and Bundestag elections: potential Turkish voter group is large
But you can also classify the whole thing as an election campaign: the European elections are in a few weeks and the SPD will also have to start thinking about the 2025 federal election. The Social Democrats have recently had to struggle with low polls. The potential group of voters is large; there are a total of nine million eligible voters with a migration background in Germany, around a third of whom have family roots in Turkey. Meanwhile, right-wing extremists are wooing people with a migration background: AfD politician Maximilian Krah recently announced on TikTok: “Turks in Germany should vote for AfD.”
Lars Klingbeil on AfD plans: “That means nothing other than deportation”
An absurdity, emphasized Lars Klingbeil on Monday evening. He spoke about the so-called secret meeting in Potsdam, at which AfD politicians debated right-wing extremists about the expulsion of millions of people. “You gave the whole thing the title of remigration. That means nothing other than deportation. That means throwing people out of this country who are German and who ensure that things run smoothly here,” said the SPD leader to applause. “We will not allow all these people to be thrown out of this wonderful country.”
Meanwhile, the audience was concerned with social issues. “The gap between rich and poor is getting bigger and bigger, what does the government want to do about it?” asked one. Klingbeil: “I want 95 percent of the people in this country to have more money in their pockets. In return, the richest five percent, who have an incredible amount, have to give something up.” The SPD therefore wants to increase taxes on assets, inheritances and high top incomes.
Attack by Iran against Israel: Viewer speaks of genocide against Palestinians
Further questions: How do you address the shortage of skilled workers in hospitals? How do you create equal educational opportunities for everyone? When will digitalization finally make progress? Klingbeil's general answer and swipe at the traffic light partner FDP: "You have to shout it out to the finance minister: The debt brake must not be a brake on the future." For months, the coalition has been wrestling with the question of how much new debt Germany should take on. Finance Minister Christian Lindner insists on the debt brake - the SPD, however, wants to loosen the rules significantly.
It was only shortly before the end that a topic arose that seemed to be hovering in the room the whole time: the Iran attack against Israel, which had happened just a day and a half earlier. A young psychologist spoke up. She made it clear that she wanted to take a clear stance against any violence. And then asked: “The federal government supports the supposedly social democratic CHP party in Turkey. Why does the same political government in Israel support an ultranationalist government?” A “genocide” against Palestinians is happening in Israel. Loud applause in the hall.
SPD Middle East expert Karaahmetoğlu: “Assume that you also mean the brutal terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel”
SPD Middle East expert Macit Karaahmetoğlu took over the first part of the answer. “It’s good that you distance yourself from any violence. I am assuming that you also mean the brutal terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7th on 1,200 innocent people." He didn't like the word "allegedly" in connection with the CHP. Their party founder and “great reformer” Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ensured more equality and more education in the country. There was thunderous applause for that too. Atatürk was the first Turkish president after the First World War and is considered a pioneer of modern Türkiye.
Two-state solution in Israel and Gaza “only political solution” for peace
Lars Klingbeil first had to briefly collect himself: “I notice that the mood is rising now.” He emphasized that he was not defending the Israeli government, but the democratic state of Israel. “Hundreds of thousands of people can take to the streets and demonstrate against the Israeli government. You’re not allowed to do that in Iran.” He wants the killing in the Middle East to end quickly. For him there is only one solution: “I am firmly convinced that the two-state solution is the only political solution for sustainable peace.”