SPIEGEL: Mr. Steinbrück, we would like to talk to you in your capacity as one of the deputy leaders of the Social Democrats (SPD).
Steinbrück: That's what I thought.
SPIEGEL: If the SPD were a department store, where would it be now? On the verge of bankruptcy or would it already have filed?
German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück says that the Social Democrats still have a chance in September general elections.
SPIEGEL: We don't think so. In the European parliamentary election, the SPD captured a meager 20.8 percent of the vote. Your party's business model seems to be out of date, not unlike the situation at Karstadt.
Steinbrück: Department stores on the whole, my friends, aren't out of fashion, and neither is the SPD. There are some very successful department stores, such as Galeries Lafayette in France or Harrods in England. Much of what went wrong at Karstadt was the result of management errors.
SPIEGEL: Another parallel. There have been a number of management errors within the SPD as well.
Steinbrück: Nothing is error-free. My impression, though, is that the SPD has solidified internally. We have become more unified in the wake of the painful events surrounding the resignation of (former SPD Chairman) Kurt Beck (in September 2008).
SPIEGEL: Then why is the SPD still in such bad shape?
Steinbrück: Error analysis is something I prefer to do internally.
SPIEGEL: After a disaster like the SPD result in the European elections, is it even possible to win German general elections this autumn?
Steinbrück: A Bundestag election has its own rules. For one, there are completely different voter turnout figures than in a European election, which helps the SPD. Plus, almost half of all voters wait until the last week to decide whether to vote and who to vote for.
SPIEGEL: What did you think when you learned of the results of the European election?
Steinbrück: That the launch pad for the Bundestag election had just been damaged.
SPIEGEL: You have a strange way of looking at things. Does a Social Democrat ever become hardened? You have certainly had your share of setbacks.
Steinbrück: We don't get hardened, but we have become practiced.
SPIEGEL: At this point, how do you propose to motivate and inspire your supporters as they enter the campaign?
Steinbrück: There is a page in Günter Grass' "Diary of a Snail," which is about the 1972 election campaign, that I think everyone should read. I'm paraphrasing, but the passage reads something like this: When your pockets are filled with rocks, when your feet are heavy and when the words become stuck in your mouth, stand up and start moving. Stand up and start moving!
SPIEGEL: Don't you eventually get tired of standing up?
Steinbrück: Never. This is no time for late sleepers and self-pity. What we need now is to stay the course, and to be persistent and consistent! People are fed up with ritualized conflicts, nor do they have any tolerance for empty blathering.
SPIEGEL: Are you referring to the kind of blathering your SPD demonstrated in the Arcandor and Opel cases?
Steinbrück: Attacks are allowed. Our political opponents do it too. But voters don't appreciate the tone of a small dog as it nips at your heels.
SPIEGEL: The SPD tried to take on the role of savior in the cases of Opel and Arcandor. Why didn't the strategy work?
Steinbrück: I think it's very honorable of my party to be doing its best to save jobs. Fighting for jobs is consistent with SPD values. It's still the right thing to do, notwithstanding the experience that our position on Opel would have been welcomed by the general public 20 years ago. Nowadays, people are more skeptical when it comes to the use of tax revenues.
SPIEGEL: Your fellow cabinet member, Economics Minister (Karl-Theodor zu) Guttenberg, was sharply attacked by Social Democrats before the election. (Former Chancellor) Gerhard Schröder maligned him as the "Baron from Bavaria," even though the man is quite popular. Was that a mistake?
Steinbrück: Every time an SPD politician launches an attack against a conservative, someone calls foul. But if (Bavarian Governor Horst) Seehofer decides to attack me, it's apparently all in good fun. I think the spotlight ought to be shown onto the entire stage.
SPIEGEL: Have you congratulated your colleague Guttenberg on his public success yet?
Steinbrück: No, just as he doesn't congratulate me on my successes.
SPIEGEL: Of which there haven't been many in recent weeks.
Steinbrück: I do believe that we have achieved quite a bit in the financial markets.
SPIEGEL: Why do you think Guttenberg is currently so popular?
Steinbrück: The man has novelty value. He's quick on his feet. He's exotic and colorful. Anyone who ruffles feathers a bit in his own party makes himself more recognizable.
SPIEGEL: You certainly have experience with that.
Steinbrück: You fail to notice the division of labor that Mr. Guttenberg and the chancellor pursued when it came to saving Opel. Angela Merkel and three governors from her Christian Democrats (CDU) all pushed to impose the current solution on Opel, while Guttenberg painted himself as the last knight of pure regulatory policy. It attracted attention, but it isn't totally candid.
SPIEGEL: In the coming campaign, you will be the SPD embodiment of economic competency -- the direct adversary of the economics minister. Do you feel up to the challenge?
Steinbrück: Of course!
SPIEGEL: Why?
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