German guy
DP Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2010
- Messages
- 5,187
- Reaction score
- 4,255
- Location
- Berlin, Germany
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Moderate
The recent success of further left-leaning politicians in different countries -- Sanders in the US, Corbyn in the UK, Syriza and Podemos in Greece and Spain -- seems to be a new trend. Especially after several decades of Thatcher/Reagan "neoliberal" policies have massively increased the gap between rich and poor people, and right-wing populists are florishing on the resulting frustration.
It looks like even among the political elites, frightened by the new authoritarian challenge, there seems to be a growing consciousness for making society more socially fair again. Even the IMF recently declared austerity and privatization no longer is the best course of action.
In Germany, chairman of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, apparently has the plan to campaign on a more left-leaning platform, too -- federal elections will take place September 2017:
Sigmar Gabriel, center-left SPD chairman since 2009 and Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economy since 2013
In recent interviews and on a SPD party convention, Gabriel declared that the SPD has to "become more radical" again, because "the situation is radicalizing". The moderate left needs "radical answers on right-wing seducers".
Among other things, he proposed the re-introduction of a property tax, approaching the position of the socialist Left Party. He complained that abusing tax loop holes by "super rich" people is "radically anti-social", and stressed that 150 billion per year are lost for general welfare due to this problem. He asked for tax transparency and harsh punishments for tax evaders and their accomplices. There shall be more state investments in infrastructure, research and education -- "schools shall become our new cathedrals". "When you have no gold in your soil, you have to take care there is gold in the heads".
Until autumn, a new retirement pension concept shall be created. And: "Labor shall not be taxed higher than stock profits", which is why Gabriel proposed high taxes on capital gains.
And finally, Gabriel now supports a financial transaction tax, again approaching the position of the far-left Left Party.
He also said that social democratic and new leftist movements all over Europe shall gather and find ways to "make globalization profitable for everybody" -- remarkable is the fact he explicitly includes far-left parties such as Syriza in Greece or Podemos in Spain.
SPD-Parteikonvent: Ein bisschen tiefer rot |Â ZEIT ONLINE
Sigmar Gabriel: "Die SPD muss radikaler werden" |Â ZEIT ONLINE
Gabriel's center-left SPD is currently in an extreme low point in polls: It reaches between 19% and 21% of the votes in polls, which would be the worst result ever since 1949, and about as bad as in 1932.
Between 1953 and 2005, the SPD had constantly reached more than 30% of the votes, sometimes even well above 40% -- but when SPD Chancellor Schröder (1998-2005) took the SPD on a pro-business "Third Way" course, reformed the unemployment support system, flexibilized the labor market and the banking sector, many traditional social democrats felt betrayed, and the SPD has never recovered so far (imagine a Republican President in America banned all guns and legalized abortions, and you get an idea what Schröder's reforms meant for the voters of his own party).
In the 2009 election, the SPD collapsed down to 23% of the votes, and in 2013, it scored only marginally better with 25.7%.
Sigmar Gabriel took over the SPD chair in 2009, as opposition leader (after he had been federal Minister for the Environment 2005-09). In 2013, the SPD once again became junior partner of Merkel's center-right CDU/CSU. Although the SPD got a minimum wage through in this "grand coalition", as well as a restriction on rental prices, former SPD voters were not convinced to return to this party. Gabriel has been Vice Chancellor and Minister for the Economy since then.
It looks like even among the political elites, frightened by the new authoritarian challenge, there seems to be a growing consciousness for making society more socially fair again. Even the IMF recently declared austerity and privatization no longer is the best course of action.
In Germany, chairman of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, apparently has the plan to campaign on a more left-leaning platform, too -- federal elections will take place September 2017:
Sigmar Gabriel, center-left SPD chairman since 2009 and Vice Chancellor and Minister for Economy since 2013
In recent interviews and on a SPD party convention, Gabriel declared that the SPD has to "become more radical" again, because "the situation is radicalizing". The moderate left needs "radical answers on right-wing seducers".
Among other things, he proposed the re-introduction of a property tax, approaching the position of the socialist Left Party. He complained that abusing tax loop holes by "super rich" people is "radically anti-social", and stressed that 150 billion per year are lost for general welfare due to this problem. He asked for tax transparency and harsh punishments for tax evaders and their accomplices. There shall be more state investments in infrastructure, research and education -- "schools shall become our new cathedrals". "When you have no gold in your soil, you have to take care there is gold in the heads".
Until autumn, a new retirement pension concept shall be created. And: "Labor shall not be taxed higher than stock profits", which is why Gabriel proposed high taxes on capital gains.
And finally, Gabriel now supports a financial transaction tax, again approaching the position of the far-left Left Party.
He also said that social democratic and new leftist movements all over Europe shall gather and find ways to "make globalization profitable for everybody" -- remarkable is the fact he explicitly includes far-left parties such as Syriza in Greece or Podemos in Spain.
SPD-Parteikonvent: Ein bisschen tiefer rot |Â ZEIT ONLINE
Sigmar Gabriel: "Die SPD muss radikaler werden" |Â ZEIT ONLINE
Gabriel's center-left SPD is currently in an extreme low point in polls: It reaches between 19% and 21% of the votes in polls, which would be the worst result ever since 1949, and about as bad as in 1932.
Between 1953 and 2005, the SPD had constantly reached more than 30% of the votes, sometimes even well above 40% -- but when SPD Chancellor Schröder (1998-2005) took the SPD on a pro-business "Third Way" course, reformed the unemployment support system, flexibilized the labor market and the banking sector, many traditional social democrats felt betrayed, and the SPD has never recovered so far (imagine a Republican President in America banned all guns and legalized abortions, and you get an idea what Schröder's reforms meant for the voters of his own party).
In the 2009 election, the SPD collapsed down to 23% of the votes, and in 2013, it scored only marginally better with 25.7%.
Sigmar Gabriel took over the SPD chair in 2009, as opposition leader (after he had been federal Minister for the Environment 2005-09). In 2013, the SPD once again became junior partner of Merkel's center-right CDU/CSU. Although the SPD got a minimum wage through in this "grand coalition", as well as a restriction on rental prices, former SPD voters were not convinced to return to this party. Gabriel has been Vice Chancellor and Minister for the Economy since then.