Daniel Krusic, the Juso boss in Baden‑Württemberg, feels that the chances for his party’s success in the current campaign have practically vanished. “We are all glad when it’s over on Sunday” he told the “taz”. “It’s depressing”. Yet the mood at the campaign stops is not that bad. “People talk to us; our candidates are well received”. The grueling winter campaign and the focus on the Greens and the CDU have sapped the SPD’s energy.
The SPD confronts a potential worst‑ever result in Baden‑Württemberg’s state elections. With numbers between seven and nine percent, the party could again fall far below the dramatic eleven‑percent performance it posted five years ago.
Speakers on the SPD’s top ticket, Andreas Stoch, told the “taz” that the media‑fueled battle between the Greens and the CDU has made clear positioning almost impossible. “I often hear people say they want Özdemir to run in order to stop Hagel. That doesn’t let you enter the substantive debate”.
In Berlin, that assessment is shared. “The public seems uninterested in what the SPD’s platform actually says” Derya Türk‑Nachbaur, parliamentary manager of the SPD Bundestag group and deputy chair of the Baden‑Württemberg state group, told the “taz”. She also blames the media’s focus on the clash between Özdemir and Hagel for the poor polling numbers. “It’s no secret that we’re dissatisfied when we look at the figures”.
Stoch does not give a concrete target for the election. “We definitely want to reach double digits” he said. “I will fight to the last drop that we exceed the eleven percent from the last elections”.