Dhe SPD chairman Lars Klingbeil explained the course of the federal party to the youth organization Jusos. The redefinition of the foreign and security policy principles is a joint task after the failure of the previous Russia policy and in view of the change for the worse in China. “And I hope that you get involved,” said Klingbeil at the Juso Federal Congress in Oberhausen.
He stands by the term “leading power”, which he himself recently chose for Germany’s political and military ambitions, even if the Jusos criticized this. The party’s youth organization, whose 300 delegates met for a three-day congress over the weekend, supported the party’s course against Russia’s war in Ukraine and also arms deliveries to Kyiv.
Klingbeil said on Sunday that Germany should not be quiet when it comes to the war and the European Union. The analysis of “what went wrong with Russia” is important and correct. The SPD leader reiterated support for Ukraine, saying: “Putin is a war criminal. He is responsible for the fact that innocent people, children and civilians are dying there.” And further: “Putin must appear before the international courts and will bear responsibility for this brutal war for which he is responsible.”
“Focus on Distribution Question”
The SPD chairman had just returned from vacation for the Juso appointment. Like all federal government ministers, he did not attend the Federal President’s speech on Friday, which CDU chairman Friedrich Merz criticized as unprecedented disrespect.
In the socio-political part of his speech to the Jusos, Klingbeil campaigned for a “social-democratic decade” and “of course the focus was on the question of distribution”. As a guest of the congress, co-chair Saskia Esken had already reiterated the call for a wealth tax for the rich in view of the energy crisis on Friday. According to Esken, cohesion in Germany is seriously threatened by inflation and the predicted recession.
The solution to this can only be a state that relieves the burden on citizens and at the same time tackles the problem of high prices at the root. The motto of the meeting was “Solidarity. Come what may”. Unlike previous congresses, which the party leadership considered a kind of test of courage to attend, there was hardly any sharp criticism of the SPD-led government. In view of the high energy and food costs, Juso Federal Chairwoman Jessica Rosenthal called for an additional one-time payment of 300 euros for families.
She also proposed a security budget for infrastructure worth billions at German and European level. The money should be used to buy back foreign stakes in critical infrastructure, for example in Chinese companies, or to keep investments in public hands. Germany should support the demonstrators in Iran with sanctions against the regime there. Rosenthal said: “It takes action, it needs sanctions.”
