Ex-Minister-President Albig suggests SPD cooperate with AfD

Torsten Albig, former Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein, has advised his Social Democratic Party (SPD) to consider forming minority governments even if they are tolerated by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Albig suggested that it might be easier for social democrats to be the first to cooperate with right-populists on certain issues that are currently driving voters to the AfD, drawing a parallel with Denmark.

Albig envisions a scenario where, after an election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, a politician like Manuela Schwesig could state, 'I will seek my majorities in the state parliament depending on the issue.' He believes that multi-party coalitions involving the CDU, Left Party, Greens, or BSW burden the functionality of democracy and leave voters frustrated.

He clarified that such cooperation would not mean endorsing the ideological views of right-populists. Instead, it would signal to lost voters that the SPD understands their concerns and wants them to return. Albig noted that former SPD members are joining the AfD not because they have become Nazis, but because they feel something is missing in the SPD. He warned that ignoring the 30 percent of voters supporting the AfD is unsustainable and continuing as before endangers the SPD's future in Germany.

Albig served as the Mayor of Kiel from 2009 to 2012 and then as Minister-President of Schleswig-Holstein until 2017. After losing a state election, he withdrew from active politics and moved into the business sector. Following leadership roles at Deutsche Post DHL and the Federal Association of German Postal Service Providers, he joined the tobacco company Philip Morris as a lobbyist in 2023.