The way debates are conducted in the SPD repels many in the party - and outside of the country hardly anything arrives.

And for those who could give real impulses, like the pointedly provocative Wolfgang Thierse, party leader Saskia Esken and the red millennials are ashamed.

Because supposedly he didn't recognize the signs of a diverse time.

In the upcoming election campaign, veterans like Thierse will be missing, the undaunted comrades, the regular voters, the supporting force of the “apron organizations” - in short, the reserves from which the party has long drawn its strength.

Members like Frank Baranowski.

The federal chairman of the Social Democratic Community for Local Politics complains that the party is decoupling from the realities of life for many people.