The SPD in the Run-Up to the 2025 General Election: from Chancellor's Party to Junior Coalition Partner?
The 20th legislative period (2021-2024) came to an abrupt end in the Federal Republic, following the dismissal of Finance Minister and Vice-Chancellor of the Liberal Democratic Party FDP, Christian Lindner, by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, due to deep political disagreements, in November 2024.
The diverging views on the budget (which culminated in the debate around the ‘debt brake’ and the financing of future-oriented investments) and the economy gave rise to increasingly virulent tensions between the coalition partners. These developments took place against a backdrop of paradigmatic shifts in foreign and defense policy, which explains, among other things, the exacerbation of the challenges facing the Traffic light coalition to the point of failure.
Looking back at the achievements and failures of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) in the Scholz government helps us to better understand the debates taking place in the run-up to the February 2025 federal elections, to understand what is at stake and to anticipate what priorities Germany is likely to set in the future.
Nicolas Batteux holds a doctorate in German history and civilization and is a lecturer in German civilization at the Université de Lorraine, attached to the EA 3944 CEGIL laboratory (Centre d'études germaniques interculturelles de Lorraine).
This publication is available in French (PDF): "Le SPD à l’épreuve des élections législatives de 2025 : du parti du chancelier au partenaire junior de coalition ?"
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Notes du Cerfa, No. 182, Ifri, February 2025
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The SPD in the Run-Up to the 2025 General Election: from Chancellor's Party to Junior Coalition Partner?
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