A senior official of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, Matthias Miersch, attributes the party’s poor election results to the “broken coalition” of the previous government. He stated in an interview with RTL and ntv that while Chancellor Olaf Scholz led the country through uncertain times, he is also responsible for the coalition’s performance and the election outcome.
When asked if the SPD would have fared better with a different chancellor candidate, Miersch declined to speculate, saying that there will be no certainty about the matter. He emphasized, however, that the party needs to reorganize itself in response to its worst election result in history.
Miersch believes that the party should hold a thorough discussion in its internal bodies to determine the necessary changes in its personnel, content and organizational structure to make the party future-proof. This sentiment is in line with the announcement of a personnel overhaul made by the party’s chairman, Lars Klingbeil, at the election party.