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From ‘Scholzomat’ to ‘Robin Hood’: Who wants to lead Germany’s SPD?

After a series of electoral setbacks, Germany's Social Democrats will choose their new leaders on Saturday in an attempt to revive the party's fortunes.

Published: 29 November 2019 09:40 CET

From 'Scholzomat' to 'Robin Hood': Who wants to lead Germany's SPD?

Olaf Scholz and Klara Geywitz stand next to Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken after a live stream debate for the SPD leadership race. Photo: DPA

The two pairs in the running – each composed of a man and a woman– will share the leadership of the SPD.

Politically on the centre and left of the party, they could help determine the future of the current governing coalition which is due to end in 2021.

In the latest opinion polls, the party which came second in the 2017 federal election is currently vying for third place with the far-right AfD, behind Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU and the Greens.

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Here are the profiles of the four candidates.

Klara Geywitz and Olaf Scholz

Olaf Scholz and Klara Geywitz during a recent debate. Photo: DPA

Klara Geywitz, a grassroots lawmaker.

Political scientist Geywitz was relatively unknown in Germany until just a few months ago but the 43-year-old is now in pole position to take over – along with Finance Minister Olaf Scholz.

The pair came first in an initial round of voting, although only by a narrow margin, against the more left-wing Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken.

Long-time SPD member Geywitz is an experienced politician from Brandenburg, a region of former East Germany that includes the capital Berlin.

She was also involved in negotiations that led to the current governing coalition with the CDU and its Bavarian CSU sister party following an inconclusive election in 2017.

She is known for her biting irony. On the campaign trail, she has fought off suggestions that she is a token candidate alongside Scholz.

Olaf Scholz, Deputy Chancellor:

The 61-year-old Finance Minister and Deputy Chancellor–- a moderate centrist – is a party heavyweight.

But he is divisive within the party, which is split between those for and against the current coalition agreement with Merkel's CDU.

Scholz says this coalition “should be the last” but his willingness to stay in government has proved controversial – particularly as support for the party has plunged in a series of regional elections.

Like his conservative predecessor as finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, he is attached to budget discipline and the self-imposed zero deficit rule.

Born in Osnabrück, Scholz joined the SPD when he was 17 and flirted with the far left of the party in his youth. He was first elected to parliament in 1998.

During his stint as SPD general secretary between 2002 and 2004, he was forced to defend chancellor Gerhard Schröder's unpopular economically liberal reforms.

This earned him the nickname “Scholzomat” for his robotic public appearances.

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Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken

Norbert Walter-Borjans, a Robin Hood figure?

A former finance minister for the North Rhine-Westphalia region, Walter-Borjans is referred to in German media by the nickname “Nowabob”.

The 67-year-old is also often referred to as the “Robin Hood of taxpayers” for a spectacular move against tax evasion.

In 2011, he arranged the purchase of data on German tax evaders in Switzerland. The repatriation of their assets swelled government coffers by billions.

Walter-Borjans started out in politics in 1984 and quickly rose through the ranks of regional government.

Between 2010 and 2017, he served as the region's finance minister with the support of the party's more leftist youth wing.

He has said he is a “staunch social democrat” but has not openly called for an end to the coalition.

Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken. Photo: DPA

Saskia Esken, anti far-right campaigner:

Esken, 58, is best known for her campaigns in favour of equal opportunities and digital access and against the far right.

She was first elected to parliament in 2013 and is on the left of the party. She favours state intervention in the fight against climate change.

Born in Stuttgart, Esken joined the SPD in 1990 and held various roles in the regional administration of Baden Württemberg.

In 2009, she set up an “Alliance Against the Right” in the town of Calw, where the neo-Nazi NPD was planning to set up its regional headquarters.

She has been critical of the coalition and its “politics of small steps” but has also not openly called for the SPD to pull out of it.

Output is expected to expand 0.3 percent this year, the economy ministry said, up from a prediction of 0.2 percent in February.

The slightly rosier picture comes after improvements in key indicators — from factory output to business activity — boosted hopes a recovery may be getting under way.

The German economy shrank slightly last year, hit by soaring inflation, a manufacturing slowdown and weakness in trading partners, and has acted as a major drag on the 20-nation eurozone.

But releasing its latest projections, the economy ministry said in a statement there were growing indications of a “turning point”.

“Signs of an economic upturn have increased significantly, especially in recent weeks,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said at a press conference.

The ministry also cut its forecast for inflation this year to 2.4 percent, from a previous prediction of 2.8 percent, and sees the figure falling below two percent next year.

“The fall in inflation will lead to consumer demand — people have more money in their wallets again, and will spend this money,” said Habeck.

“So purchasing power is increasing, real wages are rising and this will contribute to a domestic economic recovery.”

Energy prices — which surged after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — had also fallen and supply chain woes had eased, he added.

Several months ago there had been expectations of a strong rebound in 2024, with forecasts of growth above one percent, but these were dialled back at the start of the year as the economy continued to languish.

‘Germany has fallen behind’

But improving signs have fuelled hopes the lumbering economy — while not about to break into a sprint — may at least be getting back on its feet.

On Wednesday a closely-watched survey from the Ifo institute showed business sentiment rising for a third consecutive month in April, and more strongly than expected.

A key purchasing managers’ index survey this week showed that business activity in Germany had picked up.

And last week the central bank, the Bundesbank, forecast the economy would expand slightly in the first quarter, dodging a recession, after earlier predicting a contraction.

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) presents the latest economic forecasts at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, April 24th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

Despite the economy’s improving prospects, growth of 0.3 percent is still slower than other developed economies and below past rates, and officials fret it is unlikely to pick up fast in the years ahead.

Habeck has repeatedly stressed solutions are needed for deep-rooted problems facing Germany, from an ageing population to labour shortages and a transition towards greener industries that is moving too slowly.

“Germany has fallen behind other countries in terms of competitiveness,” he said. “We still have a lot to do — we have to roll up our sleeves.”

Already facing turbulence from pandemic-related supply chain woes, the German economy’s problems deepened dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine and slashed supplies of gas, hitting the country’s crucial manufacturers hard.

While the energy shock has faded, continued weakness in trading partners such as China, widespread strikes in recent months and higher eurozone interest rates have all prolonged the pain.

The European Central Bank has signalled it could start cutting borrowing costs in June, which would boost the eurozone.

But Habeck stressed that care was still needed as, despite the expectations of imminent easing, “tight monetary policy has not yet been lifted.”

In addition, disagreements in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party ruling coalition are hindering efforts to reignite growth, critics say.

This week the pro-business FDP party, a coalition partner, faced an angry backlash from Scholz’s SPD when it presented a 12-point plan for an “economic turnaround”, including deep cuts to state benefits.

Christian Lindner, the fiscally hawkish FDP finance minister, welcomed signs of “stabilisation” in the economic forecasts but stressed that projected medium-term growth was “too low to sustainably finance our state”.

“There are no arguments for postponing the economic turnaround,” he added.