In the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, the consensus can be heard across all wings, from the Parliamentary Left to the Seeheimer Circle: There can be no such thing as “business as usual”. While the party leadership around Lars Klingbeil and Bärbel Bas remains in office for the time being, there are also increasing voices calling for personnel consequences:

• Doris Schröder-Köpf explicitly called for the leadership duo to resign.
• Juso boss Philip Towersr warns against inaction: Anyone who doesn’t initiate fundamental changes now is “part of the problem themselves.”
• The former SPD campaign manager Matthias Machnig attests that the party lacks a profile and calls for the chairwoman to resign after the election defeat in Rhineland-Palatinate. “The SPD should finally put this unfortunate dual leadership aside. We need leadership again,” he told “The Pioneer”

The dissatisfaction is not only directed against the strategy, but increasingly also against the external image of those responsible for the SPD.

SPD MP demands: “Leave ego in the closet”

An SPD MP criticized Bärbel Bas and Lars Klingbeil’s “emotional deficit” to FOCUS online. In times of crises and polarization, the SPD no longer penetrates the center and loses ground to the AfD. The demand: The party leadership must “leave the ego in the closet” and think more about the party.

Bas and Klingbeil lack charisma, even if they may be doing a good job in terms of content. There is an urgent need for more “drive and emotions” among the party leaders, said the MP.

SPD leadership: These names are circulating as bearers of hope

In view of this growing dissatisfaction, the focus is already on personalities who could turn things around.

• Boris Pistorius: It is not the first time that Pistorius has been called for as a leader by SPD MPs. Many in the group now see the defense minister as the savior. A member of parliament told FOCUS online: “Pistorius is a strong guy, but not Rambo – people like that.” He still rejects a move to the top.
• Hubertus Heil: The name of the former labor minister has been circulating like a phantom in Berlin circles for a long time. Parts of the parliamentary group want the former labor minister to play a more prominent role again.
• Karl Lauterbach: Even that polarizing health expert is brought into play. “He has a razor-sharp mind. He could bring back voters,” a parliamentarian told FOCUS online.

“Pistorius is popular, people like his style”

Although the debate is gaining momentum, the potential successors are currently keeping a low profile. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD), who is popular among the population, is still ruling out a change to the party leadership.

An SPD member of the Bundestag told FOCUS online: “Pistorius is popular, people like his style. He can do something. And Hubertus Heil has shown several times what he can do. People care much more about people and emotions than we in the SPD think.”

“Lauterbach can bring back voters from the margins”

If voters today are into polarization like the AfD, we have to talk about Karl Lauterbach again, the MP continues. “As health minister, Lauterbach has proven that he can govern. He polarizes and can bring back voters from the margins.”

Despite the calls for a personnel debate, there are also voices that see the problem in strategy rather than in personnel. An SPD MP who actually supports the party leadership told FOCUS online: “In Rhineland-Palatinate we lacked the escalation that Cem Özdemir achieved with the Greens in Baden-Württemberg.” The punch was missing.

“Personnel debates won’t get us anywhere”

While some are calling for new faces, others are insisting that simply changing personnel will not solve the deeper problems. For most people in the party, it is now a matter of processing the content. The personnel debates run in the background. The MP continues: “It was a catastrophic weekend without a doubt. If we don’t even win with a popular Prime Minister like Alexander Schweitzer. Personnel debates won’t get us anywhere. We have to change something in terms of content and strategy. We have to make it clearer what the SPD actually stands for. What values ​​we stand for.”

“We need more backbone”

The research into the causes goes deep – many see the problem in the role of the SPD within the current government. For many, the reason for the loss of profile is, on the one hand, the break in the traffic lights, and on the other hand, the coalition under Chancellor Merz is putting up with too much.

The MP vents her anger: “We need more backbone and can’t continue to participate in these CDU reversal projects. The citizens’ money has been collected, and we have to talk again about reversing the heating law.”

Not only at the grassroots level, but also in the inner circle, there is a growing realization that the SPD has reduced its profile too much. General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf, who remains in office for the time being, also complained to the Phoenix broadcaster about the lack of escalation. The SPD is trying to please many people, “so that many people can vote for us half well, but it’s just not enough.” There needs to be a clear course that provides orientation.

Election debacle at the SPD: crisis meeting on Friday

In order to painstakingly redefine this course, the party now faces a week of truth. The timetable: The parliamentary group executive committee meets on Monday and the entire parliamentary group meets on Tuesday. The decisive date follows on Friday: the SPD leadership invites people to the big crisis meeting. The prime ministers and successful mayors also sit at the table. Then the party finally wants to reposition itself, announced Klingbeil.