It is the SPD’s start to the hot phase in the European election campaign. Top politicians from European social democracy gathered in the Bolle Halls in Berlin-Moabit on Saturday afternoon. It’s about the central message of the party family for the election on June 9th. Against a shift to the right, against the extreme right – that should be the focus of the election campaign.
The threat to democracy from the far right – this is the focus in Berlin this afternoon after the attack on the SPD European politician Matthias Ecke in Dresden. Kevin Kühnert looks visibly shaken as he sits down in the front row. “Unfortunately, this fits in with the picture of the past few weeks,” he told the Tagesspiegel, referring to the increasing number of attacks on campaign workers.
Kühnert reports that Ecke has fractures in his face, he needs an operation, and the police will hopefully be able to catch the perpetrators soon. In the East, election posters are no longer just being torn down, but are being systematically taken down. Kühnert asks: “In view of such events, who actually wants to stand for a democratic election?”
There cannot be coalitions with right-wing extremist parties in the European Parliament
Chancellor Olaf Scholz
The act in Dresden (which was also aimed at Green campaign workers) brings an additional jolt to the meeting. It is a “especially now” that resonates in the speeches this afternoon. SPD leader Saskia Esken seemed as if she was on the verge of tears for a moment as she wished Ecke all the best on stage. “The incident really shocks me,” she says, making the heart sign with her hands towards the hall and cameras.
The danger from the right no longer needs to be invoked this afternoon. The news from Dresden included that, according to “Spiegel”, witnesses identified the perpetrators as younger men who, based on their clothing and demeanor, could be assigned to the right-wing extremist scene.
With a “Berlin Declaration of Democracy”, the European Social Democrats are turning against right-wing extremist parties, which now sit in parliaments and governments across the European Union. The SPD sees them as a threat to the European project.
Berlin Declaration
“Where the right-wing extremists are in government today, they are restricting the right to strike and the rights of workers,” the statement said. Likewise freedom of the press and the rule of law. “They use authoritarian, autocratic means to undermine freedom and democracy.”
Against this background, Katarina Barley, the SPD’s top candidate for the European elections, is tough on EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. A week ago, the leading politician of the European Christian Democrats and Conservatives, who are organized in the European People’s Party (EPP), interpreted the previous demarcation to the right a little more openly. The main issue is whether the EPP could join forces with the more right-wing party family called EKR.
How far to the right?
The group of European Conservatives and Reformers includes the Polish PiS, which was voted out last year, the Fratelli party of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the “Vox” party in Spain.
CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann did not rule out on Friday that a majority for von der Leyen could be sought with votes from the EKR. The CDU is concerned with three principles that must be maintained: “pro-European, pro-Ukrainian and pro-rule of law,” he said.
Barley accuses the EPP conservatives and liberal parties of making such more extreme forces strong by failing to distance themselves. In their statement, the Social Democrats made the “unwavering promise” to maintain a “reliable and solid firewall against right-wing extremism”.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz took this up in his speech at the end of the congress. “In the European Parliament there can be no coalitions with right-wing extremist parties, not a little bit, not in any way, but not at all.” Regarding the crime in Dresden, he said: “Democracy is threatened by something like this, and that is why shrugging off acceptance is never an option . We have to stand together against this.”