Prime Minister Schweitzer thinks the SPD is too boring

Mainz – In light of its persistent slump, Rhineland-Palatinate Minister-President Alexander Schweitzer (SPD) is calling on his party to win trust with new ideas and political emotion. "Emotions have always been and will always be a part of politics. We shouldn't leave political emotions to the left and the emotionally toxic AfD," Schweitzer told the "Tagesspiegel" newspaper (Monday edition). Enthusiasm for political ideas once made the SPD strong. "We must ignite this spirit within ourselves so that others can be inspired," Schweitzer said. "Many people are just waiting for a strong, emotionally moving counter-offer from the political center to the AfD's hatred." The SPD needs "its own political message, an attractive offer that reaches and touches people," said Schweitzer, who has been deputy SPD chairman since June. Successful governing at the federal, state, and local levels is important, but not enough. "I have the impression that the SPD has become a bit too boring for many. We need new political ideas and impulses, a new style," said the Mainz state premier. The SPD is "sometimes too technocratic," and people don't just want bureaucratic answers in bullet points. "The world is changing dramatically. The SPD should also respond to this fundamentally," said Schweitzer. "If you like: We need to argue more with our hearts, not just with calculators." He wants to win back former SPD voters by ensuring that the Social Democrats not only govern cleanly, said Schweitzer, "but also inspire people." In the debate about the future of the welfare state, the Rhineland-Palatinate state premier called on the CDU/CSU and SPD to end their "trench warfare" and "party-political rituals." "Our welfare state is too analog, too old-fashioned," Schweitzer told the "Tagesspiegel." "There are too many actors: municipalities, municipalities among themselves, municipalities alongside each other, municipalities and the state, the state and the federal government, the social insurance systems." The SPD vice-chairman continued: "We spend a lot of money administering the welfare state instead of shaping it." Anyone who wants to preserve the welfare state must modernize it. "This debate must shape the SPD, drive it forward. The SPD must do more than just play defense from the baseline." "I'm annoyed by party-political rituals," Schweitzer said. He still hears from CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann "the same old story that reduced social benefits will make everything better," Schweitzer said. "That's just as damaging as the claim that nothing should change in the welfare state. The CDU/CSU and SPD must get out of these trench warfare." Regarding the planned reform of the citizen's income, Schweitzer said the best citizen's income is the one "that doesn't have to be paid out. We must empower people better and faster to lead a self-directed life through their own work. That is the goal, not the ritualized debate à la: Who are we taking what away from?"