Workers will be safeguarded from radiation hazards thanks to a newly proposed directive on radiation safety, as decided by the Commission.
The 2025 German federal election saw the Social Democratic Party (SPD) grappling with disorientation and poor performance, marking a significant turning point in the party's history.
The SPD, traditionally the party of the ambitious, upwardly mobile workforce, found itself estranged from its core clientele. Internal conflicts, especially between the party leadership and its peace-oriented faction, challenged the pro-rearmament and coalition policies pursued by SPD leaders and Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government. This internal dissent weakened party unity and electoral appeal.
The governing "Ampel" coalition (SPD, Greens, FDP) was marked by ongoing infighting and was severely impacted by multiple external crises, including Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and economic difficulties such as Germany's 2023 recession and court setbacks on key financial plans. This damaged public confidence in the coalition’s ability to govern effectively.
The SPD's decision not to re-enter a grand coalition with the CDU/CSU and instead continue the challenging coalition with the Greens and FDP led to unstable governance and erosion of voter support compared to their 2021 surge.
Rising support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) capitalized on societal dissatisfaction, further eroding the center-left vote base, including SPD’s traditional supporters. Public dissatisfaction with domestic issues such as irregular immigration, pension, healthcare, and nursing care system reforms contributed to voter frustration with the overall government performance, indirectly affecting SPD standing.
As a result, the SPD's vote share fell to about 14-17%, placing them well behind the CDU/CSU and AfD. The SPD leader and Deputy Chancellor Lars Klingbeil received a relatively weak endorsement at the mid-2025 party conference, highlighting leadership challenges amid these difficulties.
The SPD's top candidate, Olaf Scholz, was seen as the head of a failed coalition due to his lack of credibility in the face of many delayed problems. The party's campaign product was problematic, due to three years of constant dispute, the collapse of the traffic light coalition, and consistently poor communication.
Scholz was not the right candidate at the right time, as he lacked the ability to address the real everyday issues such as strengthening care, expanding daycare, helping the industry, and improving the integration of refugees. The SPD's door-to-door campaign was burdened by the challenges faced by citizens during the three years of the traffic light coalition.
Some people are questioning the democratic system due to underlying fears, disillusionments, and illusions. The SPD's failure to make gains on the issue of migration, a topic that had been neglected for years but gained prominence in the recent election campaign, added to the voter discontent.
In the end, the SPD finds itself in a dilemma regarding government formation, now a minor partner in a government coalition led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The good old pathos of putting the sovereign at the center could potentially help the SPD, but the party will need to address its internal conflicts and regain the trust of its voters to have any chance of regaining strength.
[1] Bernd Riegert, "SPD setzt Themen mit klaren Nachrichten an, aber sie wirken grotesk oder irreführend", ARD, 2025. [2] Michael Wedell, "Die SPD hat sich in eine Selbstzerstörungswut verstrickt", Die Welt, 2025. [3] "SPD scheitert bei Migrationsthema", Stern, 2025. [4] "Lars Klingbeil erhält relativ schwachen Zuspruch", Tagesspiegel, 2025. [5] "SPD zieht sich aus dem Kanzleramt zurück", Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 2025.
- The SPD, once a beacon for the ambitious working class, struggled with estrangement from its core base due to internal conflicts, particularly concerning policy on war-and-conflicts and coalition matters.
- The election campaign in 2025 highlighted the SPD's poor performance, with leaders like Friedrich Merz and Lars Klingbeil facing criticism for their pro-rearmament and coalition policies.
- As part of the "Ampel" coalition, the SPD grappled with ongoing internal dissent and was severely impacted by external crises, such as job-search challenges, accidents, fires, and economic difficulties.
- The party's decision to continue the coalition with the Greens and FDP rather than re-enter a grand coalition with the CDU/CSU resulted in unstable governance and erosion of voter support.
- The SPD's position on policy-and-legislation, particularly on issues like education-and-self-development, personal-growth, and career-development, was a contentious point during the election campaign, contributing to voter discontent.
- The rising support for the far-right AfD capitalized on societal dissatisfaction, further eroding the center-left vote base and weakening the SPD's standing.
- The party's approach to migration, a topic that gained prominence during the election campaign but had been neglected for years, was met with widespread voter discontent and calls for improvement in skills-training and integration programs.
