Woidke Says SPD Needs a Clearer Position

The SPD needs to show more clearly what it stands for, Brandenburg premier Dietmar Woidke said as the party struggles with weak nationwide poll numbers. “Many people currently no longer recognize what the SPD stands for and what concrete difference social democratic policies make in their lives,” he told the German Press Agency.

An Infratest dimap poll recently placed the SPD at 13 percent. The party has governed nationally with the Union since 2025. Woidke said the SPD did not need to reinvent itself completely, but had to explain its purpose “more clearly, more concretely and more credibly.” Its strength, he said, lay in bringing social justice and economic strength together.

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Many people currently no longer recognize what the SPD stands for and what concrete difference social democratic policies make in their lives.

Woidke also urged the party to avoid turning the debate over its leadership into a judgment on Bärbel Bas and Lars Klingbeil alone. At the grassroots level, some members have called for new party leadership after the state elections in the autumn.

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The SPD does not need to reinvent itself completely. But it must say more clearly, more concretely and more credibly what it stands for.

For Woidke, the SPD should focus fully on the “hard-working middle.” He listed good wages, secure employment, strong collective bargaining coverage, reliable pensions, affordable energy and affordable housing as priorities. The party, he said, should concentrate more on its own agenda rather than merely responding to other parties, with clear priorities, understandable language and visible results.

Ahead of the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, Woidke said he was confident the AfD would not secure an absolute majority. “I am certain that the people of Saxony-Anhalt will show at the polling stations that they want security and stability, not division,” he said. He added that the AfD’s program would harm the regional economy and its people. Further state elections are scheduled in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin on September 20.

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I am certain that the people of Saxony-Anhalt will show at the polling stations that they want security and stability, not division.