The party, FDP, adopts a crimson hue.
Somewhere Over the Rainbow: Is the New Social Democracy a Fantasy Land for Workers? Not exactly, as it's cruising towards self-destructive territory, especially with its new senior coalition partner, the CDU.
They've borrowed some notes from Denmark's Social Democrats with their questionable "immigrant exodus migration policy" and ambitions to increase the retirement age to 70. If the SPD's social identity continues to disintegrate, we'll be left with a party with a very unclear mission and purpose - one that resembles the FDP too closely.
Recently, Jens Südekum, an advisor to Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD), has proposed making termination protection for older workers "flexible" – a charming euphemism for "easier to oust." This "sachgrundlose Befristung" has crept into the traffic light coalition before. Under this pretext, employers could hire and fire more elderly employees. Ha-ha.
At our independent, progressive, and opinionated daily newspaper, we've been debating the left-leaning spectrum since our founding in 1979. You'll find a diverse range of opinions here, from moderate to radical, comprising the broad left-wing spectrum.
Südekum envisions economic prosperity on the horizon, provided "nothing unexpected happens" again, like the coronavirus pandemic or the Ukraine conflict. It seems he's forgotten that the boom could vanish if workers aren't granted the rights they deserve, as an increased retirement age doesn't simply translate to more productivity without consequences.
More is More?
What's the point of a coalition made up of different parties? So they can all practice the same politics? It seems the voter had something else in mind when pulling the lever for the SPD: they wanted amplification, not a corrective or a brake. They wanted the Social Democracy to stand up for workers' rights and champion a fairer society, not become an offshoot of the CDU.
Klingbeil's boss, Südekum, has now declared war on tax evasion, targeting both black work and the people who will inevitably resort to it due to the proposed dismissal changes. Many of the older workers axed without "reason" will find it challenging to land decent jobs after the SPD's kick in the teeth. On the bright side, these unemployed seniors should be able to land black-market construction work – they seem to be in constant demand!
The SPD has long been tasked with doing the CDU's dirty work (black!). This practice has been the status quo ever since Gerhard Schröder's government, with the SPD eagerly snapping at the heels of the evil workers' protection whenever the CDU calls for reinforcements. In the traffic light coalition, the Social Democrats appear to have learned well from their junior partner. It seems that with the SPD, you don't even need the FDP anymore. Eventually, the CDU and AfD may be the only parties left, rendering the SPD and the FDP interchangeable in their disdain for workers' rights. Then all parties will be equally messed up, albeit in their unique ways – some dislike workers while others are indifferent to immigrants or Jews. Aren't we fortunate that we still have a choice?
- At our independent, progressive, and opinionated daily newspaper, we've been discussing various policy-and-legislation matters, including the SPD's new policies that resemble the CDU in crime-and-justice, general-news, and politics.
- As the SPD seems to be adopting similar approaches to workers' rights as the CDU, it raises questions about their commitment to workers' advocacy, a key expectation from the party based on the general-news and politics landscape.
