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Franziska Giffey is looking for a path to Berlin state politics. According to the Federal Ministry of the Family, it should be the Red City Council. The pressure on the SPD candidate is immense.
Franziska Giffey still has big plans in Berlin. First, the capital’s SPD elected by a large majority the Federal Family Minister on Saturday, together with the leader of the parliamentary group Raed Saleh, as the new dual leadership. “It’s going to be fine,” they both convinced each other in Berlin dialect. Immediately afterwards, she declared that she wanted to run as the main candidate in the 2021 House of Representatives elections. The SPD, which currently rules the capital with left and green parties, wants to decide on this in the coming weeks. Hardly anyone doubts that Giffey will get the most for it too.
If the SPD manages to become the strongest force next September, as in 2016, the 42-year-old candidate Giffey would become the mayor of the government. However, there are still some obstacles on the way to the Red City Hall. Because she is considered a bearer of hope that many trust to get the SPD out of the polls in which it has been for years.
The plagiarism accusations sparked discussions
But concerns have been mixed with the euphoria that has been displayed throughout much of the party since Giffey’s Ph.D. and the plagiarism accusations against him again for discussion to import. Does that damage your credibility and slow down the SPD in the electoral campaign?
In fact, the subject seemed to be finished: the Free University of Berlin (FU) decided in fall 2019 that Giffey could keep his doctorate, but gave him a reprimand for deficiencies in his work. Recently, after much criticism and a new report, the FU announced a new test, which should be completed by the end of February.
Shortly afterwards, Giffey announced that she no longer had her doctorate, but wanted to remain Federal Minister for the Family. Last year, following the FU’s complaint, he announced that he would resign if his title was revoked.
90 percent elected Giffey as SPD chair
The new test procedure does not facilitate its initiation into state policy. The opposition will not be deprived of the constant riot on the subject of doctorates. So the election of the SPD president with a good result of almost 90 percent was an important first step for her new career at the state level, but the real challenges are yet to come.
It was heard from SPD circles that there was definitely criticism of Giffey and his top candidate. The majority in the party see it differently, if only because there are no compelling alternatives. “If we fire them, we can finish,” says a prominent SPD member.
Some of the party ties, who play a bigger role in Berlin than in many other regional associations, always think of Heinz Buschkowksy when they think of Giffey. The mayor of Neukölln in shirtsleeves liked to play hard and less with the left-wing soci. He is considered the adoptive political father of Giffey.
Without consent from the left?
Some of his statements on public safety, for example, are reminiscent of Neukölln’s friend of law and order, whom Giffey succeeded in office. Not everyone likes that. Even if he emphasizes at the same time that social justice is a core competence of the SPD: even as a new co-chair, Giffey cannot always rely on the consent of the ties.
But the vast majority in her election show that hope for the charisma of the 42-year-old, who since her time as Neukölln district mayor has cultivated the image of a practical and citizen-friendly politician, outweighs skepticism. The fact that he might lose his Ph.D. is seen as a stain among Berlin’s Social Democrats, regardless of the spectrum, at best.
Motto: Close your eyes and continue
In the party it is said that even if she resigned as federal minister, that would not be a reason to resign from the maximum candidacy. The motto of the Berlin SPD is: Close your eyes and finish, after all, the voters have the last word.
Giffey himself responded to the question on Saturday: “I told comrades: ‘You can trust me, whatever happens. I am there for you, we are there for you ”. And that should mean that the top candidate has nothing to do with the possible withdrawal of the doctorate.
Giffey expressed her emotions in her party conference speech on Friday night in an elegant red dress. Words like “grab it,” “roll up your sleeves,” “take care of yourself” could be heard and should, despite the Corona-era computer party lecture, spread optimism and optimism. Security, good education, a strong economy, jobs and prosperity – that’s what the SPD stands for. Who could disagree?
“If we stick together, we will be strong, then we will convince people,” he yelled at delegates on home computers. “If we’re in a good mood and exude confidence and strength, then we will make it, I’m sure. It won’t be easy. But if it was easy, everyone could.”
