Frankfurt: The SPD will become more powerful
-
fromChristopher Mannus
shut down
A general meeting of the Frankfurt SPD initiates a structural reform with a large majority. There is criticism at the virtual meeting, especially at a new party level.
The Frankfurt SPD is facing the biggest organizational changes in many years. With a new structure and way of working, the party with the largest number of members in the city area will attract more people to political work, strengthen the local associations and increase their campaigning ability. The sub-district was reacting not least to the miserable performance in the local elections in March 2021, in which the SPD was only the third strongest force in Römer with 17 percent.
After more than four hours of lively discussion, a digital general meeting on Saturday approved a corresponding resolution by the subdistrict board for an “SPD Frankfurt 2.0” with 77 percent of the votes cast. This provides for the creation of a new level between the 43 chapters and the sub-district.
Five city associations planned as a new level for the Frankfurt SPD
We are talking about city associations for the north, west, middle, east and south of the city. According to the ideas of the Structural Modernization Working Group, which developed the reform concept, these should enable a faster exchange of information, help local associations that need support, and strengthen the mobilization ability of the lower levels.
The sub-district will offer more opportunities for future and existing members to work on projects. Mentors should support people who want to get involved in the SPD. There should be more general meetings. The party will also become more visible. A citizens’ office in the city center should contribute to this.
The Frankfurt SPD
The SPD sub-district of Frankfurt , which consists of 43 local associations, had exactly 3556 members at the end of 2020. This makes the SPD by far the party with the most members in Frankfurt. About two thirds of Frankfurt’s Social Democrats are male.
Every third member of the Frankfurt SPD is over 60. At the same time, almost every fourth member is of Juso age, i.e. up to 35 years old. According to the sub-district, the average age is 55 years, the age of the people who are new to the SPD is 34 years.
The number of members is well below that of earlier times. In the 1970s there were more than 12,000 female social democrats in the city. The number has continued to fall in recent years. This was due to resignations, but also to a large extent to deaths. According to the sub-district, around 50 Frankfurt SPD members died between 2017 and 2020.
The latest development is positive according to the estimate of sub-district manager Sebastian Maier. There are no final figures yet.
The number of entries and exits suggest, however, that the number of members has increased. Significantly more people than usual joined the SPD, especially after the federal elections in September. cm
“We want to become more powerful as a sub-district,” said Frankfurt SPD chairman Mike Josef on Saturday morning. For this it is crucial that the party mobilizes its stronger members and brings more “speed to the streets”. In view of increasing mobility and work intensification, the party should make more offers for people who want to get involved in individual projects in a result-oriented manner,
The SPD Frankfurt will “set the tone politically” in the city
The Frankfurt SPD would not simply accept the result of the local elections, said Kolja Müller, who controls the work on the reform concept with Katharina Stier and sub-district manager Sebastian Maier, at the virtual general meeting in front of almost 200 social democrats. “It is our aim to set the tone politically in Frankfurt.” To do this, people in the city have to remember: “The SPD is there, approachable and cares.” It is also crucial that the SPD remains a “participatory party”, So no functional party, said the deputy chairman of the subdistrict.
By the annual party conference of the Frankfurt SPD on July 16, the reform concept is to be further specified, including in workshops with the members. The aim is that a new statute will then be adopted and the changes can be implemented. Katharina Stier made it clear that the discussion did not end with the general meeting. Now it’s only “half time,” said the board member.
Jusos prevail with an application for SPD party conferences in Frankfurt
The structural modernization working group and the SPD board, which had unanimously approved the paper, were unable to assert themselves on Saturday with the desire to reduce the number of delegates at the party conferences. At the annual party conference in July, 313 Frankfurt Social Democrats can vote on the resolutions. It was suggested that the local associations only send up to 280 delegates. But the majority of members vote for a desirable Jusos. After this, the delegate key should remain unchanged, but it should be checked whether the number of participants on site can still decrease through digital possibilities. Juso spokesman Paul Lüber argued that reducing the size of the party congress would send the wrong signal given the desire to encourage more people to take part.
Motions not to close the concept paper, but only to, and to reject the new intermediate level did not meet with a majority on Saturday. However, several speakers expressed clear reservations about the planned creation of city associations. Wilhelm Ungeheuer fears, for example, that the new level will impede the exchange between the local association and the sub-district and will also bind volunteer members who should be involved in the existing levels. “How can you achieve more co-determination with a new level?” Friedhilde Scholl grows up. She can’t understand that. Christine Wendel-Roth, on the other hand, expressly praised the planned introduction of city associations. Better cooperation between the local chapters is very important, she said.