SPD race for the party presidency: The regional conferences begin

The elections in the East are over, and in the SPD the focus is on the candidate race: who will succeed Andrea Nahles? Who will lead the 156-year-old party in the future?

On Wednesday evening at 18 clock it starts: Saarbrücken, Congress Center. Around three hundred members have registered for the first regional conference. But it can also be significantly more visitors, the event is public.

It is the prelude to a gigantic casting tour: Until October 12, 23 of these party meetings are scheduled. 17 candidates present themselves - eight teams and one individual candidate.

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In the party headquarters, the tour was meticulously prepared, the SPD hopes for new momentum and an invigorating effect of the race, in the end, the members choose the new party leadership.

But 17 candidates on a stage? How should this work?

The SPD takes a high risk with its procedure. Not only the number of applicants is high, also 23 dates are quite a lot. Fast could be a wear effect. But with a cancellation of appointments or the withdrawal of candidates in the party is not expected.

The background to this is that the regional conferences are organized by the regional associations - at least one conference is planned in each federal state. It is planned that all will follow the same pattern. This looks like this:

• At the beginning there is a short greeting . In Saarbrücken this takes over the state chairman Anke Rehlinger and presumably a member of the Interimstrio, which currently leads the party.
• Then the applicants introduce themselves in a so-called candidate solo . In this opening statement Duos and the individual applicant Karl-Heinz Brunner each have five minutes speaking time. A total of 45 minutes are scheduled for this block.
• In a second block, the moderator interviews the candidates in round tables . The topics should vary, the applicants should answer in a maximum of one minute and can also react to each other. 40 minutes are planned in total for it.
• The third part is followed by questions from the audience . The moderator should pay attention to a balanced distribution of the questions. An hour should be available for this block.
• The end will be final statements by the candidates. The length: again a maximum of 60 seconds - in 20 minutes all applicants should be ready.

All in all, a conference including a welcome speech should take just under three hours. Karl Lauterbach, who runs with Nina Scheer, has calculated that each duo at the conferences nevertheless only on a speaking time of 9 minutes and 20 seconds comes. As you can not really big, so Lauterbach. How credible or passionate a candidate is can not be determined in such a short time.

Daniel Stich, secretary-general of the Rhineland-Palatinate SPD, defended the procedure, however: "For the first time, really decides the base, who leads the party in the future," said Stich the SPIEGEL. "It's a modern, exciting format and we should be proud of that."

SPD regional conferences

Taunts sparked before the inaugural conference in Saarbruecken internal advice for the candidates, about which first the "Bild" newspaper reported. These "Information and instructions for teams and candidates * inside" that are available to SPIEGEL include:

"When it comes to clothing, the following is advisable: You should feel comfortable in your clothes and consider sitting a long time in. If someone wants to wear a skirt, please be aware that you are sitting on red bar stools."

There was irritation in party circles on Tuesday over this leaked internal information to the press. "Well-intentioned advice is ridiculed and employees demoralized," the party said.

SPD procedure for the party presidency

The schedule at a glance:

1st of July: Applications

From this day, teams of two or individual applicants may submit their candidacy for the SPD Chairmanship. For a candidacy they need the support of at least five sub-districts, a district or a national association.

September 1: Regional conferences

The application deadline ends. The candidates then present themselves in 23 regional conferences of the base. For five weeks, they can promote themselves among the members. The prelude is on 4 September in Saarbrücken, the final on 12 October in Munich.

October 14: Basic decision

The approximately 440,000 SPD members may elect their candidate or their team of candidates for the party leadership in a basic decision .

October 26: result of the membership vote

The result of the membership decision will be presented. If no candidate or double team receives over 50 percent of the votes, there should be a casting vote between the top two. The election is not legally binding , politically, the party congress is unlikely to pass the vote of the members.

December 6-8: Party Congress

The federal party convention of the SPD is coming together in Berlin. He should formally elect the winner of the membership decision to the SPD leadership - and decide on the midterm review of the Grand Coalition.