In surveys nationwide, the SPD is slumbering at around 15 percent.
Nevertheless, it makes the claim to leadership.
Thematically, the party now wants to score particularly with one area.
Berlin - The SPD wants to score points in the super election year 2021 with environmental issues such as climate and the turnaround in traffic.
Chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz and party leaders Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans made this clear on Monday after a two-day closed-door meeting of the SPD leaders in Berlin.
In doing so, Scholz again underlined the social democrats' claim to lead the next federal government.
“The SPD * has a plan for the 20s and it wants to lead the next government,” Scholz emphasized, regardless of his party's continued weak polls.
"There has been a lack of a social democratic chancellor for many years," he said on ZDF.
“We want to stop man-made climate change” and “organize modern mobility”, Scholz continued.
That is why the SPD “put climate protection first,” said Walter-Borjans.
SPD top candidate Scholz: "We need a policy that tackles"
Scholz accused Federal Minister of Economics * Peter Altmaier (CDU) * of deliberately delaying the expansion of renewable energies and thereby ignoring the question of "how much electricity we will need in 2030".
He himself campaigned for the expansion of green electricity and the charging infrastructure for e-cars as well as a strengthening of public transport.
"We need a policy that tackles and makes this matter a matter for society as a whole," said the Vice Chancellor.
This conversion is also in the interests of the trade and many, including smaller, companies.
It is now a matter of focusing on questions of the future.
The party envisages four "future missions":
Stop man-made climate change
Organize modern mobility
Advancing the country's digital sovereignty
Create a modern healthcare system
"Conservative politics is not the right approach" for this, but neither is liberal politics that rely on problems to be solved by themselves, he added, referring to political competitors.
But Scholz also distinguished himself from the Greens *.
In contrast to this, the SPD offers "a concrete, describable progress perspective".
The SPD wanted to advance the country with modern technology and infrastructure, said Walter-Borjans.
With a view to the costs of the corona pandemic, the SPD chief warned of an economic and financial "emergency stop" after the crisis.
This is "not possible" with the SPD, the future must be the focus.
This also includes a well-developed health system.
SPD in the election campaign: “Youth check” for the effects of laws
Co-party leader Esken campaigned for the needs and interests of young people to be given greater consideration.
These would have to be more involved in political processes, among other things through the right to vote from 16 also in the federal government.
In the case of new laws, there should be a “youth check”, “not just from people who are no longer young”.
The SPD also wants to do more so that young people can take up social professions, said Esken.
Here it must be a matter of course that training allowances are paid and “not possibly school fees” are required.
The environmental association BUND welcomed the SPD's strong emphasis on environmental and climate protection.
The announcements would now have to be followed by "deeds" even in the case of the coal and gas phase-out, demanded chairman Olaf Bandt.
(AFP / cibo) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.