Europe

SPD goes for gold in eastern German regions as federal election nears

‘Canny and calm’ chancellor hopeful Olaf Scholz appears to be making steady progress

SPD chancellor hopeful Olaf Scholz, right, and Frank Ullrich, candidate for the federal election, in Oberhof. Photograph: Ronny Hartmann/Photothek via Getty

Derek Scally's face
Derek Scally in Erfurt
Tue Aug 17 2021 - 20:00

Four decades ago, Frank Ullrich took a biathlon gold for East Germany at the Lake Pacid Winter Olympics. Now the lean 63-year-old hopes to score a Bundestag seat in the eastern state of Thuringia for the centre-left Social Democratic Party.

“Even 30 years after unification we’re still struggling to deliver for people in rural areas, half of the population in some areas has moved away,” Ullrich says at a breezy winter sport facility deep in the Thuringian forest. “With the SPD I see a chance to change that. They have found a new confidence.”

Ullrich is one of many new recruits the SPD hopes can boost – in next month’s federal election – its traditionally weak showing across eastern states, in particular regions where support for the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) can top 30 per cent.

An Ullrich victory would be doubly sweet for the SPD. Here his centre-right Christian Democratic Union rival, Hans-Georg Maassen, is a former intelligence chief with controversial political views that Ullrich says are “fishing on the far-right fringe”.

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Thuringia and its pretty capital, Erfurt, has two special links to the SPD. It was here 130 years ago that the party adopted the name it still carries; and it was here in 1970 that SPD chancellor Willy Brandt was greeted by an ecstatic crowd when he arrived for the first post-war meeting of East and West German leaders.

Ahead of the September 26th election, SPD chancellor hopeful Olaf Scholz didn’t trigger ecstatic cheers when he visited Erfurt – but recent polls show a growing wind in his sails. Six weeks to election day, his party has pulled three points ahead of the Greens and is now five points short of the CDU.

As his main rivals stumble from one banana skin to the next, Scholz – federal finance minister in Berlin – has yet to make a slip and is viewed by voters as the most competent chancellor option.

A little change

Despite unclear coalition options, senior SPD strategists are confident their centrist lead candidate, combined with a left-leaning programme, offers an ideal proposal for voters looking for a change – but not too much change – after the 16-year Merkel era.

“Scholz is canny and calm, exactly what people want in uncertain times like these,” says Carsten Schneider, a senior SPD figure and Erfurt MP. “Six weeks before the election, people starting to look at the field realise they can no longer vote CDU to get Merkel [who is stepping down after the election]tion, the pitch for eastern voters is tricky this time around. Multi-billion euro regional investment is visible everywhere in Thuringia, from the beautifully restored cities and new winter sports facilities to a high-speed train connection that is pulling in tourists and big companies.

But average earnings are still 25 per cent lower than in western states, draining away entire generations of young Thuringians. The SPD hopes its promise of a €12 minimum wage, combined with new training facilities in eastern regions, will lure back voters from rivals.

“Our cities have been beautifully restored but we have entire villages without young people, family firms with no children to take over,” says Janine Merz, another SPD Thuringia candidate. “Scholz has a low-key personality people here like, and he has government experience – which people notice, too.”

Fourth wave

Ahead of next month’s poll, the consequences of a potential pandemic fourth wave are foremost in people’s minds, along with the political lessons of recent floods. Some in Erfurt are worried about dwindling efforts to address ongoing challenges, such as those arising from the 2015-2016 refugee wave.

Auckland native Andrew Aris and his team at Erfurt club Spirit of Football offer practical integration to new arrivals through sport and outreach projects. Despite political plaudits, they struggle to survive on precarious one-year funding cycles.

“To me personally, it feels like people want to wipe the refugee situation away; people appear tired of it, politicians included,” says Aris. “But as we now see what is happening in Afghanistan, we should get ready for the next influx.”

Back on his windy forest hill, Frank Ullrich insists his late political vocation won’t distract from his coaching duties for promising Olympic biathletes. “Sport unites and it’s my core competence,” he said. “But we’re up and running. The SPD is a strong team this time around with its eye on the end line.”