KEHL AM RHEIN, Germany, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Germany's Social Democrats on Wednesday ended an emotional party summit and the era of outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder without really knowing what is to come next.
Compared to the honest support soon-to-be Chancellor Angela Merkel received at her party's summit in Berlin, the gathering of the Social Democrats, or SPD, was a pool of emotions: Gerhard Schroeder, who only a few months ago called for early elections, arguing he had lost the backing of his party, was celebrated like a pop star. The 10-minute-long standing ovations he received stands in stark contrast to the conflicts Schroeder sparked at the party base. His package of labor and welfare reforms, the Agenda 2010, has angered the left wing of the SPD, causing some delegates to leave the SPD and -- with a group of ex-communists -- form a new far-left party. The ones remaining proved to be increasingly disgruntled over Schroeder's unilateral leadership style and over the party's move to the center of the political spectrum.
So why the emotional goodbye at the summit?
"Schroeder has polished his standing by leading a successful election campaign," Gero Neugebauer, party expert at Berlin's Free University, Wednesday told United Press International in a telephone interview. "But in my opinion, it's more like the speech at the funeral: You don't say anything bad there either."
Schroeder kept his party in government after pre-election polls had the SPD hopelessly behind Merkel's conservatives. In the end, however, both camps had to team up to form the country's first left-right coalition since the late 1960s.
The emotions were likely also sparked by an increasing awareness that the SPD is heading into a new era.
With Schroeder on the brink of retirement and Franz Muentefering handing over his party chairmanship to young easterner Matthias Platzeck, much is changing at Germany's socialists. Platzeck was elected Tuesday with an overwhelming 99.4 percent majority, the best result for a party chairman since the late 1940s.
"Platzeck stands for a new optimism inside the party," Neugebauer said. "He promises continuity but at the same indicates a new style, by promising his delegates to include them in the political decision-making."
The near total acceptance for Platzeck likely also hails from the candidate's blank ideological profile. In Brandenburg, he has backed Schroeder's Agenda 2010 and at the summit in Karlsruhe, he reminded the conservatives not to forget "social justice" when crafting reforms and stressed his commitment to strong labor unions. Platzeck joined the party ten years ago, and during his speedy rise to the top, he hasn't alienated anyone nor has he forged especially close alliances. That's why he is the perfect man for the job, observers say. The entire party base can find valid reasons why the new chairman would swing their way. Platzeck also personifies the hope for better times after years of political unilateralism, in which Schroeder and Muentefering did not even think of discussing major policy decisions with the party base. In his first speech as the new chairman, Platzeck on Tuesday said he needed "every single delegate" to keep the SPD on course and in government.
Platzeck, 51, once a biologist in former communist East Germany, entered politics after the fall of the Berlin Wall. He started his career as an environmental activist for the Green Party and in 1995 joined the SPD. First mayor, then a regional SPD chief, then premier of Brandenburg, the state surrounding Berlin -- Platzeck's swift career rise had Schroeder become interested in the politician early on. Ahead of coalition talks, Schroeder wanted Platzeck to take on the foreign ministry brief, which many consider the perfect breeding ground for a future chancellor. But Platzeck refused, citing his commitment to state politics. He couldn't say no to the chairmanship, however, after his party was plunged into an inner-party crisis over the surprise resignation of Muentefering.
His new position has observers once again hail Platzeck as the party's coming chancellor candidate. But not so fast, Neugebauer said.
"He first has to prove himself," he said. "Yes, he is very close to the entire party, but one has to see if he is really able to reunite it."
Until Platzeck achieves that, the SPD's course remains uncertain.
