Social democrats must be promoters of progressive change, not technocrats.

It is remarkable how social democrats are discovering the European debate. After their disastrous election results, it seems that social-democratic party leaders, in their desperate search for explanation and orientation, have noticed for the first time that they are part of an already existing European network. If it is right to say that the decline of the left is a European phenomenon, then our response must also be European. But caution is necessary here, because European politicians have an unhealthy habit of presenting successes as being the result of national politics, while keeping any problems for the European arena. And this tendency can be observed in the current discussion: our election results are explained as part of a ‘European trend’. But this trend is by no means a natural law. The European debate should not be used to cover up our own failures and weaknesses, but should be seen as part of the solution.

I believe that honest analysis is a precondition for recovery. The ‘good society’ that Nahles and Cruddas convincingly demand has not been on our agenda; on the contrary, social democrats have been ignoring the original aims of the labour movement, as described by Willy Brandt (in a surprising reference to Marx): ‘We take upon ourselves the responsibility not only to interpret the world but also to change it’. Democratic institutions in our highly developed countries have lost influence and credibility over the years; ‘globalisation’ has become the ‘one-size-fits-all’ excuse for cuts in social spending and for accommodating international capital. Many social democrats have disguised their lack of solutions in a technocratic approach, while some have found satisfaction in the new job definition they have drawn up for themselves: to become the best managers of governmental affairs, not agents of change. Even debating the nature of capitalism has become almost taboo.

In 1975, the German social democrats produced a programme (‘Orientierungsrahmen ’85’) in which the SPD harshly criticised conservatives, because of their naive belief that ‘between rich and poor, powerful and powerless, knowing and unknowing (“wissend und unwissend”), there could be real solidarity’. The SPD insisted that the causes of inequality had to be addressed in order to safeguard our political freedoms. But it seems that this knowledge of the Willy Brandt era has been forgotten.

However, though social democrats have been refusing to talk about the economy, others have been doing so. Inequality within our societies and on a world scale is on the agenda of new left parties all over Europe, as well as in international forums like those in Porto Alegre. But the advocates of the ‘third way’ have not only failed to achieve what left leaders like president Lula have managed – i.e. to govern successfully and pragmatically without losing the support of his base – they have often refused to even try.

Our organisations and leaders have lost contact with an essential part of the left, without filling this gap by attracting other important groups of voters. One important example of such ineptitude is the failure to integrate progressive bloggers and campaigners into political discourse, because we are not willing to accept the necessary preconditions – being open and responsive to new ways of communicating and debating. This is all too much for our aging male-dominated political elites.

There has been much talk about democracy, but there has also been a silent acceptance that the economy should be left out of the discussion. As a result, we have not only lost a considerable number of traditional voters, but also – and this has been almost unnoticed – a considerable number of middle- and even upper-class voters who have been supporters of social-democratic values such as social justice. In a society that is increasingly drifting apart, the question for the left is whether or not it is capable of proposing a platform for the common good. Such a platform should stress democracy (and not only as a form of government), citizen’s rights and the idea of a ‘good society’. This will be the first step in bringing together a new progressive coalition. I believe that over the past few years social democrats have appeared outdated not because they have had old-fashioned values, but because people have had the impression that they have no values at all.

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