Inclusive" language begins to regress in GermanyIs it serious to base voting decisions primarily on election programs? Following Elon Musk's highly controversial guest article in Die Welt, which seems to base its favorable recommendation for the AfD (Alternative for Germany) largely on the official party program, but ignores the assessments of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, for example, this approach may be considered discredited by some politically interested parties. Nevertheless, election programs may still be considered the best indication of what the hearts of party officials desire for future government activities, because they have been officially adopted. This also applies to the draft program of the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) approved by the executive committee, which the party is expected to confirm at its January 11 conference without too many changes.
What can the Social Democrats offer Christian voters? Compared to the CDU/CSU (Union Parties) program, direct reference to the Church and Christianity is, as expected, scarce. The word "Christian" does not appear at all in the 66 pages entitled "More for you. Better for Germany." "Church" appears twice. Under the chapter "We fight for cohesion and against the enemies of democracy" - a phrase that the hierarchy of the major churches is known to fully recognize in its own political commitment - the following brief acknowledgement appears: "Churches and religious communities make a valuable contribution to our coexistence. We promote interreligious dialogue and protect religious freedom to strengthen the diversity of our society as an opportunity for open coexistence."
In favor of family reunification, against rejections
There is no mention in the program of religious education or the replacement of state benefits. A second brief mention of the churches is only to be found on the subject of development aid, where church partners would play an important role. On this topic, the SPD also proposes to make the international financial architecture "fairer" and to exchange the debts of highly indebted countries for commitments to social and ecological transformation, which, at least to some extent, goes in a similar direction to the Pope's ideas on the relationship between industrialized and developing countries.
Apparently, there is also agreement with the policy recommendations of the Pope and the German Bishops' Conference (DBK) on refugee and asylum issues. For example, the SPD does not want "pushbacks", i.e., pushbacks of migrants at the borders, as demanded by CDU/CSU politicians. The SPD is also opposed to asylum procedures being carried out in third countries, arguing that there must be fair and constitutional procedures in the EU, something that Bishop Stefan Heße, the DBK's refugee commissioner, has repeatedly stressed. Probably also in his favor is the demand to continue to allow family reunification for those in need of subsidiary protection.
More childcare and parental leave
The other family policy proposals of the party, which has been part of the federal government since 2013, consistently follow the slogan "More" (state benefits) (as do most of the other proposals). Here one can find a two-week family start period with continued full pay immediately after childbirth, as well as maternity protection for the self-employed and staggered maternity protection for miscarriages, if this is not decided before the elections anyway. Parental benefit will also be extended to 18 months, of which six months will be non-transferable for both mother and father. A Social Democrat classic is the demand for "more childcare places, all-day schooling for primary school children and a general extension of childcare hours," which the SPD wants to achieve through more skilled workers in the education system. The SPD had already agreed with the CDU/CSU in 2021 on the legal right to all-day schooling for primary school children from 2026, and in its election program it now promises to implement this in practice.
The only thing that made some observers frown was the definition of family introduced in the chapter on family policy: The terms father, mother or child are avoided, the family is simply "where people take care of each other and want to support each other". On the other hand, the SPD is committed to the concept of the family as the core of (democratic) society when it writes that a society is characterized by how well families fare. And: "Our democracy is also rooted in the family, because in the family council everyone is heard, everyone has a voice".
Equality in politics and family
But not only within the family should there be more equality, but also in the world of work: "To enable women and men to participate equally in working life, in care work and in management positions, we fight against structural disadvantages," writes the SPD. And further on: "Equal sharing of care work must be a matter of course." Furthermore, "gender mainstreaming" must "also in future" be the guiding principle in all government departments; in the meantime, Chancellor Olaf Scholz had abandoned the principle of parity in ministerial positions when he had to replace Christine Lambrecht as defense minister with Boris Pistorius. In the name of equality, however, the SPD seems to want to rethink the principles of representative democracy as well; in any case, the program proposes a law "guaranteeing equal representation of women and men in the German Bundestag in lists and direct mandates".
Other emancipatory projects include the full equality of queer families in family and parentage law, as well as the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity as a prohibited object of discrimination in the Basic Law. The Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) also called for the latter at the end of November.
Fight against antifeminism
Once social "progress" has been achieved, the SPD wants to defend it vigorously - some liberal-minded people are likely to curl their toenails, and even conservative Catholics might wonder whether traditional Christian ideas might come under attack from the state due to the lack of clear definitions: the SPD wants to "counter anti-feminism and anti-gender movements, as these "threaten our liberal coexistence".
If you have no idea what this means, you can find relevant information on the website of the state program "Demokratie leben!" (Long live democracy!). While anti-feminism means, according to the website, "fighting or rejecting feminist concerns and positions in a general, active and often organized way, whether as an individual in discussions on the Internet, in parties or other groups," anti-gender mobilization "is not only directed against feminism and equality, but also against the acceptance of the diversity of sexual, gender, love and family lifestyles and identities as equal." It doesn't take much imagination to visualize the Catholic Church as an anti-feminist group that denies the equal value of different loving lifestyles, given its past moral teachings.
There should be no "sense of state censorship".
At least in theory, this would put him at odds with the SPD, which wants to "combat all forms of discrimination and take action against degradation and hate speech." Needless to say, the SPD also wants to tackle "systemic risks" on digital platforms, keyword "disinformation and fake news." In addition to the consistent implementation of increasingly restrictive European regulations, such as the "Digital Services Act", the Social Democrats also envisage greater "cooperation" with professional organizations and "autonomous bodies, such as the Press Council" in this context. The state could demand moderation of platforms and "promote independent media that also carry out fact-checks, among other things." State supervision itself should, of course, "exercise restraint so as not to give rise to a sense of state censorship," a remarkable formulation.
However, arguably the most important issue for the Catholics Here, too, the SPD is, as expected, taking a stand against Catholic convictions. The Social Democrats, who also support a group motion on this issue in the home stretch of the current legislature, want to "decriminalize abortions and regulate them outside of criminal law"; abortions should be part of "basic medical care".
This is a translation of an article that first appeared on the website Die-Tagespost. For the original article in German, see here . Republished in Omnes with permission.
