German Social Democracy in Uncertain Reality

The article analyzes new aspects of the evolution of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) against the backdrop of the situation in Europe and in the world, confirming the forecasts made in the author’s previous publications. The party remains an important political force in Europe and globally, influences the development of European social-democratic thought, actively participates in reforming the European Union. The German Social Democrats uphold the principles of liberal democracies, entering into disputes with Budapest and Warsaw in view of their heightened sense of national exclusiveness. The updated conceptual guidelines of the party testify to further tightening of the SPD’s course in the Russian direction. The party does not give an answer to the fundamental questions: how the outlines of a new world order in Europe can be built without the participation of Russia, especially against it; to what extent the turn of the SPD’s top meets the interests of ordinary party members and citizens of the country. The approach of the German Social Democrats may exacerbate the already tense situation. The SPD has forgotten Willy Brandt’s warnings about the inadmissibility of exporting the FRG’s and other Western countries’ model, of imposing certain rules. The military-political choice made by O. Scholz and L. Klingbeil, their definition of February 24, 2022 as drawing a line under the moral and historical responsibility of Berlin for the atrocities of the Nazis, depreciating the important role of Moscow in the defeat of fascism and the reunification of Germany, have become the milestone ideological imperatives of modern Germany. These and other factors will go down in the history of Moscow–Berlin relations as a major mistake of the German Social Democracy. Moscow should not negotiate with those leaders of the SPD who will certainly bring the content of conversations to the attention of Washington, Brussels, Kyiv, Warsaw, Vilnius, Riga. The German ruling class without the sovereignty of its country does not inspire confidence. The trend of expanding hostilities in Ukraine with the use of new types of weapons, a possible direct intervention of NATO countries in the conflict continues. Moscow should clearly analyze the reasons for the rise and fall of the RF–FRG relations, Russia’s miscalculations, and sketch out various scenarios. Despite everything, in Germany, especially in the new federal states, in a part of the SPD, German business and civil society, hopes for normalizing relations with Russia have not been lost completely. Their cautious statements about the common roots of the Russian Federation and the Federal Republic of Germany belonging to the European civilization cannot but inspire restrained optimism in terms of preserving the experience of dialogue between the two countries.