SPD Manifesto | Dispute over SPD Peace Manifesto: Defense instead of arguments

Some SPD politicians were literally gasping for breath after the "manifesto" initiated by comrades like Rolf Mützenich, who was head of the SPD parliamentary group months ago, Ralf Stegner, and former party leader Norbert Walter-Borjans was released. In the paper, published just over a week ago, its supporters oppose the logic of discussing security only in military terms . They also call for negotiations, a reconciliation of interests, and understanding.

After a ceasefire in Ukraine, it states, the "extraordinarily difficult attempt must be made to resume dialogue with Russia after the guns have fallen silent, including on a peace and security order for Europe supported and respected by all." This sentence, in particular, and the statement that support for Ukraine "must be linked to the legitimate interests of everyone in Europe in security and stability" are a red rag to the paper's critics . They focus almost exclusively on this passage and the criticism of NATO contained in the appeal.

Former Bundestag member Michael Roth, for example, accuses the initiators of a lack of "empathy for the people of Ukraine" and of pursuing an "appeasement policy" toward Russia. In a debate with Ralf Stegner published Tuesday on Zeit-online, Roth reiterated his statement that the paper was "a whiny mixture of dogmatism, historical distortion, and intellectual neglect of affluence." He further claimed that for the Manifest group, "the states of Eastern Europe are only sovereign if they do not challenge Russia's sphere of influence." This is "nothing other than Russian propaganda, which is also fed by the AfD and the Wagenknecht group."

Stegner, in turn, emphasized that he did not want to leave the peace issue to the far-right and the BSW. Otherwise, the SPD would soon end up with election results of ten percent. In the federal election in February, the Social Democrats had already achieved a historically poor result of 16.5 percent. The Bundestag member is also convinced that the West has done far too little in terms of diplomacy. For example, China, which exerts considerable influence over Russia, is far too little "included in negotiation efforts." Likewise, it is necessary to reach out to countries in the Global South.

However, the intervention of the "SPD Peace Circles," as they call themselves, will not change the federal government's commitment to massive rearmament. However, their ranks are annoyed that even well-known Social Democrats are now expressing opposition to this line.

SPD government members Boris Pistorius and Lars Klingbeil have distanced themselves from the document. The Federal Minister of Defense accused its initiators of "denial of reality." Pistorius told ARD: "How one can even imagine closer cooperation with Russia at this stage is completely strange." Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Klingbeil emphasized that under his leadership, "there will be no reversal in support for Ukraine."

SPD deputy leader Hubertus Heil echoed Pistorius's sentiments on Wednesday. It is "the time for an ethics of responsibility," he told the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung." One cannot "simply ignore the changing times and wish for a better world." According to Heil, only a minority within the SPD supports the manifesto positions. While it is right that the debate about this is being conducted within the party, it must also be brought to an end, he clarified.

Klingbeil, who had from the outset placed all other projects of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU)-Social Democratic Party (SPD) coalition under the condition of financial contingency, meanwhile declared his willingness to increase Germany's defense spending to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the coming years. These plans are also vehemently contradicted in the manifesto, claiming that military spending is already very high. According to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Germany already moved up to fourth place last year among countries with the highest military spending in absolute terms.

"What we deplore is the belief that we will come closer to an end to the bloodshed if we no longer want to organize security with, but against, a still large neighbor and engage in a financially unlimited arms race."

Norbert Walter-Borjans , former SPD chairman

The Finance Minister said on Monday at the "Ständehaus-Treff" (Ständehaus Meeting) of the "Rheinische Post" newspaper in Düsseldorf: "My obligation is, above all, to ensure that everyone can live safely, and for that, more investment is needed now. And if that ultimately means three percent, then we'll do three percent; if that means 3.5 percent, then we'll do 3.5 percent." For the current year, the figure remained "initially two percent" of GDP for defense. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had proposed that all members of the military pact should commit to investing at least 3.5 percent of their GDP in defense in the future. An additional 1.5 percent should be allocated to defense-related spending such as infrastructure.

Meanwhile, former party leader Walter-Borjans lamented the prevailing belief that "security can no longer be organized with, but against, a still-large neighbor." He expressed concern to the Westdeutsche Zeitung that "already very high defense spending is leading to a financially unlimited arms frenzy."

Former parliamentary group leader Mützenich justified the publication of the paper two weeks before the SPD's federal party conference in Berlin by stating that the party also intends to adopt a new policy platform there. "Our considerations are intended to complement a broad discussion that has been taking place for years within the SPD and beyond," said Mützenich. Ultimately, he set the initiative's ambitions very low: They don't want to offend anyone, but they are happy to discuss the possibility that things might be different. This also likely reflects a realistic view of the Manifesto group's influence on the party.