Outside Iberia and Britain, social-democratic parties are struggling almost everywhere in Europe
Yet its problems run deeper than people. Most trace them to Mr Schröder’s labour-market reforms, especially “Hartz IV”, which toughened rules on unemployment benefits. The policy is often credited with helping create a jobs miracle, but it infuriated the party’s base in areas such as the post-industrial Ruhr.
The leadership hopes to bolster morale before a review of the coalition at the end of the year, which could offer party hacks who never wanted to rejoin the government a chance to pull out. For the moment Ms Nahles’s efforts have calmed people’s nerves. But the mood could turn jittery again should thedo badly in elections this year. Losing power in Bremen and Brandenburg would be especially painful.
The strategy may see off the internal critics for a while. But the appeal of softening welfare rules is limited when unemployment is below 4%; boosting pensions does little for younger voters, just 9% of whom believe thebest serves their interests. “I was born in 1985, where’s the social system for me?” asks Laura-Kristine Krause, a party member and political activist. On other issues thecan resemble a think-tank more than a power-hungry party.
The picture is yet dimmer on foreign policy. As Germany comes under pressure from allies, above all America, to meet itsspies an opportunity to market itself as the “party of peace”, opposing big rises in defence spending and a relaxation of arms-export rules. The’s slogan for the European elections, “Europe is the answer”, sits awkwardly with the irritation its foreign policy stirs in itspartners, especially France. No matter; the party is in line with voters’ instincts.
Immigration and identity politics, however, present trickier terrain. Leaders hope that as the dust settles from the refugee crisis of 2015-16 they can steer the national conversation on to social and labour issues. But immigration remains German voters’ top priority. This speaks to perhaps the
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