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'Why Does the SPD Want to Stay in Government?'

Germany's Social Democrats have sought to turn a corner with a shadow cabinet that includes new faces and more women than men. However, Friday's newspapers lack enthusiasm for the new team and predict a drubbing for the SPD in the September election.

Germany's Social Democrats sought to revive a flagging campaign on Thursday with the presentation of a new team ahead of September's election. Leading candidate Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is hoping to unseat conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel, introduced the group which included more women than men and was a mix of experienced ministers and younger new faces.

Steinmeier, who is also foreign minister in the ruling grand coalition between the center-left SPD and the conservative Christian Democrats, has struggled to exude the necessary charisma required to tip the scales in the Sept. 27 election. And worryingly for the SPD, its rival conservatives seem to be benefiting from any of the government's successes in dealing with the economic crisis.

The party, whose roots go right back to the 19th-century labor movement, has hemorrhaged support to the far-left Left Party in recent years due to the deeply unpopular social welfare reforms it introduced under Gerhard Schröder's previous government coalition with the Green Party. The SPD is now at only 23 percent in the latest opinion polls, trailing far behind the Christian Democrats. If the Social Democrats don't manage to close the gap before election day, the CDU and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union could be on course to form a coalition with their preferred partner, the business-friendly FDP.

Introducing his new shadow cabinet in Potsdam on the edge of Berlin on Thursday, Steinmeier tried to rally the troops, saying the SPD was the only party that would guarantee social policies in Germany. "Ms. Merkel wants a coalition with the FDP," he said. "That would be a march back to the 1990s." He argued that such a government would make it easier to fire workers, bring back nuclear energy, which is being phased out by law in Germany, and make damaging changes to health insurance.

The launch of "Team Steinmeier" was overshadowed this week by the scandal involving Health Minister Ulla Schmidt, a veteran SPD politician. The theft of her ministerial limousine in Spain revealed the fact that she had had the vehicle chauffeur driven all the way from Germany, something that seemed out of sync with voters' worries about the current recession. In the end, Steinmeier opted to leave her out of his new team, which does include Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück and Labor Minister Olaf Scholz. Women are slightly overrepresented in his shadow cabinet, with Andrea Nahles, one of the SPD deputy chairs, taking on education policy, while Ulrike Merten will be responsible for defense and Manuela Schwesig is to take on responsibility for family policy.

If Steinmeier had hoped to turn a corner in the election campaign, he is sure to be disappointed by most of the coverage in Friday's newspapers. Commentators are underwhelmed by the caliber of the shadow cabinet and most argue that the problem with the SPD is that it doesn't know how to campaign against Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, a party it shares power with in government.

The Financial Times Deutschland writes:

"The SPD is not just a party with a rich tradition, which covers an important part of the political spectrum. It is also, though one may like to forget it, a party that has been in government for the past 11 years. And its candidate for chancellor, who people like to poke fun at, and who presented his shadow cabinet yesterday, is also none other than the country's foreign minister and deputy chancellor."

"This has to be said, because the SPD seems as if it wants to cover this up out of shame. Even the shadow cabinet was something that an opposition party would usually present. It is symptomatic of the two souls that reside in the SPD. Not a right and a left wing, but an opposition and a government."

"Only 13 percent of the voters trust the SPD to master the current economic crisis, while 48 percent trust the Christian Democrats. That is shocking: After all, both parties are working together to deal with the consequences of the crisis."

"However, if the SPD prefers to present itself as the opposition, then the CDU will be attributed with the successes. And then one must ask: Why does the SPD want to continue in government at all, if they would rather forget the past 11 years?"

The leftist Die Tageszeitung writes:

"The SPD has achieved a lot in 11 years in government, including its time in the grand coalition. Many voters would much prefer to see Steinmeier as deputy chancellor than FDP leader Guido Westerwelle. And those who would like keep Merkel as the popular centrist chancellor, should vote for the SPD in September. But Steinmeier does not dare say that, because he doesn't think his own reforms are popular any more. And because he doesn't want to play himself at the same level as the FDP. Because he believes that it is impossible to campaign for a grand coalition."

The conservative Die Welt writes:

"The SPD is in a dishevelled state. ... Nothing that the party does at the moment seems to work. And so it is easy to make fun of the shadow cabinet. ... And yet that would be unfair. The candidate had obviously made an effort to make the best of the situation. He presented the older members, in particular the government ministers, and he gave younger and not so well-known members a chance. That is an honorable thing to do and it would be foolish to criticize the party just because it has dared to bring in new names and give women a proportionate role."

"And yet, this team makes a weak and feeble impression. The old guard seems to be doing its duty ... everyone here knows that those with the most political experience are not exactly popular in the party right now. And the young and new faces may be competent themselves, but it doesn't say a lot about the SPD that they are supposed to give it fresh impetus. … They don't represent a new and solid cohort within the party. And that is what is so strange about this team. The older ones are still there, and the new ones are not quite there yet. The team represents the SPD in a transitional phase: a snap shot of a party without a clue."

The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung:

"Steinmeier is better prepared to lead Germany than most pervious candidates for chancellor -- better than Angela Merkel, Gerhard Schröder or Helmut Kohl. He knows the Chancellery and its tasks from his own experience -- as the head of the Chancellery (under Schröder) he dealt mainly with domestic policies. And as foreign minister he has gathered the necessary experience in international politics. … He seems to be nice, reliable and not at all arrogant. He is the man of the center. Who else should the SPD have chosen to be its candidate? If Steinmeier were chancellor he would be popular and respected like few of his predecessors."

"The problem is whether Steinmeier is capable of being a good candidate. ... He doesn't seem the type. He doesn't come across as aggressive or egocentric or like someone who wants to be chancellor above all else. He doesn't want to be vicious. And he doesn't seem capable of appearing as the representative of a new political generation. The accusation that Steinmeier would be the return of Schröder is wrong. He is more like a male version of Merkel. He is around the same age and pursues politics in the same analytical manner. And because of working together in the grand coalition, his policies are similar to hers."

"The presentation of the shadow cabinet was his attempt to go on the offensive. The size and make up of the group -- 19 people, including several unknowns -- may be arbitrary and disjointed. However, the group shows the SPD's desire to turn a new leaf and mobilize the party. They are standing with their backs to the wall. However, the party is certain not to remain at 23 percent and even elections where one party is trailing can throw up some major surprises."

-- Siobhán Dowling