The Local Germany

SPD looks to regroup as Müntefering bows out

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:20:00 +0100

The end of an era arrived for the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) on Friday when veteran political operator and party chairman Franz Müntefering stepped down with a speech attempting to rally his beleaguered party at a conference in Dresden.

Plane with SPD boss makes crash landing

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:51:00 +0200

A Contact Air passenger jet carrying Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader Franz Müntefering and 77 others was forced to make a crash-landing in Stuttgart on Monday.

Müntefering’s love life irritates fellow Social Democrats

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:59:00 +0200

Facing a tough election campaign, some members of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) say chairman Franz Müntefering’s relationship with a much younger woman is a unwelcome distraction, the daily Tagesspiegel reported Friday.

Steinbrück says crisis will take years to overcome

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:50:00 +0200

German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück fears that the country will take years to recover from the financial crisis, German weekly magazine Stern reported today.

Westerwelle demands early elections

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:59:00 +0100

Guido Westerwelle, the head of Germany’s opposition Free Democratic Party (FDP), on Monday demanded the government bring forward this autumn’s general election to June in order to avoid political paralysis during times of economic crisis.

SPD to target wealthy as report says middle classes pay more tax

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 12:46:00 +0100

Social Democrat Party chairman Franz Müntefering, has called for the rich to be taxed more heavily and warned that if the CDU did not cooperate on this topic, the SPD will make it an issue in September’s general election.

Lafontaine balks at working with SPD

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 15:27:00 +0100

Oskar Lafontaine, populist chairman of Germany's hard-line socialist Left party Die Linke, has reacted belligerently to the centre-left Social Democratic Party's apparent new openness to working together at the state level.

SPD backs state-level deals with leftists

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 15:05:00 +0100

Social Democratic Party Chairman Franz Müntefering on Sunday gave his blessing to controversial state-level coalitions with the hard-line socialist Left party.

Steinmeier promises tough finance rules

Sun, 19 Oct 2008 11:58:00 +0200

Frank-Walter Steinmeier promised tougher regulation of Germany's financial sector as he was formally selected Saturday to run for chancellor against Angela Merkel in next year's election.

SPD meets to crown new leadership duo

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 13:31:00 +0200

The Social Democrats (SPD) on Saturday made Franz Müntefering and Frank-Walter Steinmeier their new leadership tandem to lead the centre-left party into next year’s general election.

Müntefering returns to save Social Democrat election hopes

Sat, 16 Aug 2008 15:09:00 +0200

Social Democrat Party (SPD) grandee Franz Müntefering will return to full-time politics in Berlin, and most likely significant influence, according to a report in the Rheinische Post newspaper.