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94-524: The law requires companies to carry out analyses on supply chain contracts to identify risks to human rights and requires companies to take action against identified risks. The companies will have to publish an annual report containing the analyses. Companies must also establish a complaint procedure for workers to report potential risks. The law additionally gives civil society organisations the ability to sue companies on behalf of workers over breaches of human rights in supply chains. Companies that fail to respect

188-410: A big tent party of the centre-left. The SPD led the federal government from 1969 to 1982 (under Willy Brandt and Helmut Schmidt ), 1998 to 2005 (under Gerhard Schröder ) and again since 2021. It served as a junior partner to a CDU/CSU-led government from 1966 to 1969, 2005 to 2009 and from 2013 to 2021. During Scholz's chancellorship, the party has set out principles of a new German defence policy in

282-597: A 1952 Soviet suggestion for Germans to form a neutral state was ignored by the CDU/CSU–FDP government. After 17 years in opposition, the SPD became the junior partner in a grand coalition with the CDU/CSU which lasted from 1966 to 1969. After the 1969 federal election , the SPD's Willy Brandt became chancellor in a coalition with the liberal Free Democratic Party. His government sought to normalise relations with East Germany and

376-475: A branch in Germany. However, in 2024, the provisions of the law will extend to apply to all companies with over 1000 employees. In 2026, the federal government will carry out an evaluation of the law's effectiveness. The German federal cabinet proposed the law on 3 March 2021. It had originally been planned to be introduced in 2020, but negotiations were required between the government's coalition partners, with

470-572: A coordinated approach. In addition, uniform rules for the carbon accounting of goods should apply among members. As part of the coalition agreement that led to Scholz becoming chancellor, the Social Democrats, Free Democrats, and Green party agreed to accelerate Germany's phaseout of coal to the year 2030, in line with the target set by the Powering Past Coal Alliance . The country's previous target had been to end

564-583: A free press", and the newspaper ultimately published the interview with Scholz's answers blacked out. Scholz served as the SPD spokesperson on the inquiry committee investigating the 2005 German Visa Affair . Following the federal election later that year, he served as First Parliamentary Secretary of the SPD Bundestag Group. He also became Chief Whip of the Social Democratic Party. In this capacity, he worked closely with

658-585: A key role in the German Revolution of 1918–1919 . On 9 November 1918, leading SPD member Friedrich Ebert was designated chancellor and fellow Social Democrat Philipp Scheidemann , on his own authority, proclaimed Germany a republic . The government introduced a large number of reforms in the following months, introducing various civil liberties and labor rights . The SPD government, committed to parliamentary liberal democracy , used military force against more radical communist groups, leading to

752-578: A lawyer specialising in labour and employment law . He became a member of the SPD in the 1970s and was a member of the Bundestag from 1998 to 2011. Scholz served in the Hamburg Government under First Mayor Ortwin Runde in 2001 and became general secretary of the SPD in 2002, where he served alongside SPD leader and then-chancellor Gerhard Schröder . He became his party's chief whip in

846-405: A life without exploitation, suppression and violence, hence in social and human security", the realization of which is emphasized as a "permanent task". Social democracy serves as the "principle of our actions". The party platform of the SPD espouses the goal of democratic socialism, which it envisions as a societal arrangement in which freedom and social justice are paramount. According to

940-679: A permanent split between the SPD and the USPD , as well as the Spartacist League which would go on to form the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and integrate a majority of USPD members as well. The SPD was the largest party during the first 13 years of the new Weimar Republic . It decisively won the 1919 federal election with 37.9 per cent of votes, and Ebert became the first president in February. The position of chancellor

1034-519: A problem for the German economy and called for a fundamental rethink. With regulations such as sustainability reporting, the deforestation directive or the supply chain law, ‘even with good intentions, we have taken a completely wrong turn’, he said, emphasizing that competitiveness is under pressure in Germany and red tape should be cut. He spoke in favour of giving entrepreneurs more responsibility again and against reporting obligations. The European Union

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1128-637: A referendum, the citizens of Hamburg later rejected the city's candidacy, with more than half voting against the project. Later that year, Scholz – alongside Minister-President Torsten Albig of Schleswig-Holstein  – negotiated a debt-restructuring deal with the European Commission . The deal allowed German regional lender HSH Nordbank to offload €6.2B in problematic assets, primarily underperforming ship loans, onto its government majority owners and avoid being shut down, saving around 2,500 jobs. In 2017, Scholz

1222-412: A serious interference in the internal affairs of Germany and Europe and their sovereignty." Scholz has expressed support for a longstanding agreement that allows American tactical nuclear weapons to be stored and maintained on American bases within Germany. In June 2019, Scholz initially ruled out a candidacy for the party co-leadership following the resignation of Andrea Nahles . He explained that

1316-527: A simultaneous activity as Federal Minister of Finance and party leader was "not possible in terms of time". However, in August, Scholz announced his intention to run for party chairmanship with Klara Geywitz . He said that many of his preferred candidates had not run for office, expressing a sense of "responsibility". Of the six candidate duos standing for election, the Geywitz-Scholz due received

1410-458: Is a social democratic political party in Germany . It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the party's leader since the 2019 leadership election together with Lars Klingbeil , who joined her in December 2021. After Olaf Scholz was elected chancellor in 2021, the SPD became the leading party of the federal government , which the SPD formed with

1504-524: Is a German politician who has been Chancellor of Germany since 2021. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as vice chancellor in the fourth Merkel cabinet and as Federal Minister of Finance from 2018 to 2021. He was also First Mayor of Hamburg from 2011 to 2018, deputy leader of the SPD from 2009 to 2019, and Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs from 2007 to 2009. Scholz began his career as

1598-687: Is expected to follow Germany in the coming years with a similarly sweeping piece of legislation. Specifically, the proposed Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive will cover the same measures as the German Supply Chain Act and is built to level the playing field for ESG initiatives and the people throughout the supply chain. Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany ( German : Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands , [zoˈtsi̯aːldemoˌkʁaːtɪʃə paʁˌtaɪ ˈdɔʏtʃlants] , SPD , German pronunciation: [ɛspeːˈdeː] )

1692-625: Is traditionally Lutheran , and he was baptized in the Protestant Church in Germany . He holds largely secular political views, and left the Church in adulthood, but has emphasised a need for appreciation of Germany's Christian heritage and culture. Scholz joined the SPD in 1975 as a student, where he came into contact with the Jusos , the youth organization of the SPD. From 1982 to 1988, he

1786-552: Is under the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Finance, is alleged to have contributed to the longevity of the fraudulent business. During Scholz's time in office, the Ministry of Finance was one of the subjects of parliamentary inquiry into the scandal, but Scholz has denied any personal responsibility. Having vowed to strengthen financial market supervision, he replaced BaFin president Felix Hufeld . Within

1880-521: The 2015 state election in Hamburg, receiving around 47% of the vote. He formed a coalition government with the Green Party , with Green leader Katharina Fegebank being appointed to serve as Deputy First Mayor. In 2015, Scholz led Hamburg's bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics with an estimated budget of €11.2B ( US$ 12.6B ), competing against Los Angeles, Paris, Rome , and Budapest . In

1974-570: The COVID-19 pandemic in Germany , Scholz drafted a series of financial rescue packages for the country's economy, including a €130B stimulus package in June 2020. The stimulus package included support for businesses and freelancers as well as a decision to keep factories open. This is often credited as having prevented mass layoffs, and the effects of the COVID-19 financial crisis on the German economy were initially relatively low. Scholz also oversaw

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2068-695: The Communist Party of Germany (KPD). The SPD played a leading role in the German revolution of 1918–1919 and in the foundation of the Weimar Republic . The SPD politician Friedrich Ebert served as the first president of Germany from 1919 to 1925. After the rise of the Nazi Party to power, the SPD was the only party in the Reichstag which voted against the Enabling Act of 1933 ; the SPD

2162-828: The Comprehensive Agreement on Investment between the EU and China. In September 2022, he condemned the treatment of ethnic Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang . In October 2019, Scholz condemned the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish -controlled northeastern areas of Syria , otherwise known as Rojava . Scholz has been campaigning for a financial transaction tax for several years. Experts have criticized parts of this plan, arguing that it would disproportionately affect small shareholders. In December 2019, Scholz pushed for

2256-669: The Eastern Bloc , a policy known as Ostpolitik . The party achieved its best ever result of 45.8 per cent in 1972 , one of only three occasions in which it formed the largest Bundestag faction. After Brandt's resignation in 1974, his successor Helmut Schmidt served as chancellor until 1982, when the SPD returned to opposition. During the Peaceful Revolution in East Germany, the East German SPD

2350-504: The Federal Constitutional Court demanded budget cuts totaling €60   billion to ensure the government would not surpass debt limits as set in the constitution; this proved a significant challenge for Scholz's cabinet and contributed to the 2023–2024 protests . On 6 November 2024, his government majority collapsed as he fired Christian Lindner from the post of Federal Minister of Finance and broke up

2444-707: The Nazi government while others fled the country. The party-in-exile was called Sopade . After the end of World War II , the re-establishment of the SPD was permitted in the Western occupation zones in 1945. In the Soviet occupation zone , the SPD was forcibly merged with the KPD in 1946 to form the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). The SED was the ruling party of East Germany until 1989. In West Germany ,

2538-768: The Progressive Alliance and was joined by numerous other parties around the world. Previously, the SPD was a founding member of both the Second International and the Labour and Socialist International . The Social Democratic Party has its origins in the General German Workers' Association , founded in 1863, and the Social Democratic Workers' Party , founded in 1869. The two groups merged in 1875 to create

2632-583: The Reformed Protestant region of East Frisia directly to the north, with its strong traditional streak of anti-Catholicism , is one of their strongest constituencies. Further south, the SPD also enjoys solid support in northern Hesse , parts of Palatinate and the Saarland . The social democrats are weakest in the south-eastern states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia , where the party's percentage of votes dropped to single-digit figures in

2726-519: The Reichstag , except for the one of 1919 which was called the National Assembly and since 1949 the parliament is called Bundestag . Note that changes in borders (1871, 1919, 1920, 1949, 1957 and 1990) varied the number of eligible voters whereas electoral laws also changed the ballot system (only constituencies until 1912, only party lists until 1949 and a mixed system thereafter), the suffrage (women vote since 1919; minimum active voting age

2820-534: The Second International 's agreement to oppose militarism, the SPD supported the German war effort and adopted a policy, known as Burgfriedenspolitik , of refraining from calling strikes or criticising the government. Internal opposition to the policy grew throughout the war. Anti-war members were expelled in 1916 and 1917, leading to the formation of the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD). The SPD played

2914-475: The Social Democratic Party of Germany eventually backing down on including small companies in the law after opposition from the CDU/CSU . Human Rights Watch supported the passing of the law, stating that "the law is an important step toward meaningful corporate accountability" but that "it does not incorporate the highest international standards." The Confederation of German Employers' Associations opposed

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3008-605: The Socialist Workers' Party of Germany  [ de ] (German: Sozialistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands ). From 1878 to 1890, the Anti-Socialist Laws banned any group that aimed at spreading socialist principles, but the party still gained support in elections. In 1890, when the ban was lifted, the party adopted its current name. The SPD was the largest Marxist party in Europe and consistently

3102-750: The Zeitenwende speech . The SPD holds pro-European stances and is a member of the Party of European Socialists and sits with the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group in the European Parliament . With 14 MEPs , it is the third largest party in the group. The SPD was a founding member of the Socialist International , but the party left in 2013 after criticising its acceptance of parties they consider to be violating human rights. The SPD subsequently founded

3196-520: The political centre . After World War II , the SPD was re-formed in West Germany after being banned by the Nazi regime ; in East Germany , it merged with the Communist Party of Germany to form the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany . Under the chairmanship of Kurt Schumacher , the SPD was a socialist party representing the interests of the working class and of trade unions. With

3290-698: The state dinner hosted by President Barack Obama in honor of Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House . As host of Hamburg's annual St. Matthias' Day banquet for the city's civic and business leaders, he brought several notable guests of honour to the city, including Jean-Marc Ayrault , Prime Minister of France, in 2013; David Cameron , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in 2016; and Justin Trudeau , Prime Minister of Canada, in 2017. From 2015 until 2018, Scholz also served as Commissioner of

3384-405: The "European stronghold of big business" and the social-liberal coalition , which puts the "bare maintenance of power above any form of substantive dispute". Referring to this period in his life, Scholz has later said that he "made almost all possible mistakes at some point". On 4 January 1984, Scholz and other Juso leaders attended a meeting in East Germany with Egon Krenz , then secretary of

3478-439: The 1959 Godesberg Program, the party evolved from a socialist working-class party to a modern social democratic party working within democratic capitalism . The SPD's Hamburg Programme, adopted in 2007, describes democratic socialism as "the vision of a free and fair society in solidarity", which requires "a structure in economy, state and society guaranteeing civil, political, social and economic basic rights for all people living

3572-502: The 1990s, the left and moderate wings of the party drifted apart, culminating in a secession of a significant number of party members which later joined the socialist party WASG , which later merged into The Left ( Die Linke ). Much of the SPD's current-day support comes from large cities, especially northern and western Germany and Berlin . As of 2019, 10 of the country's 15 biggest cities are led by SPD mayors. The metropolitan Ruhr Area , where coal mining and steel production were once

3666-453: The 2018 and 2019 elections. In 2021, it significantly increased its vote share in the states of the former east. The federal leader is supported by six Deputy Leaders and the party executive . As of 2021, the leaders are Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans . The previous leader was Andrea Nahles , who announced her pending resignation on 2 June 2019. As Germany is a federal republic , each of Germany's states have their own SPD party at

3760-541: The Bundestag, later entering the First Merkel Government in 2007 as Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs . After the SPD moved into the opposition following the 2009 election , Scholz returned to lead the SPD in Hamburg. He was then elected deputy leader of the SPD. He led his party to victory in the 2011 Hamburg state election and became first mayor, a position he held until 2018. After

3854-619: The CDU Chief Whip Norbert Röttgen to manage and defend the grand coalition led by Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Bundestag. Scholz also served as a member of the Parliamentary Oversight Panel , which provides parliamentary oversight of the German federal intelligence services; the BND , MAD and BfV . In 2007, Scholz was appointed to serve as Minister of Labour and Social Affairs in

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3948-467: The CDU, CSU and SPD parties to form a coalition government following the 2013 federal election . In the subsequent negotiations, he led the SPD delegation in the financial policy working group; his co-chair from the CDU/CSU was Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble . Alongside fellow Social Democrats Jörg Asmussen and Thomas Oppermann , Scholz was reported in the media to be a possible successor to Schäuble in

4042-603: The CDU/CSU after the 2013 federal election . This arrangement was renewed after the 2017 federal election . SPD narrowly won against the CDU/CSU in the September 2021 federal election , becoming the biggest party in the federal parliament (Bundestag). Social Democrat Olaf Scholz became the new chancellor in December 2021, and formed a coalition government with the Green Party and the Free Democrats. The SPD

4136-703: The Central Committee of the SED , and Herbert Häber , member of the Politburo of the SED-Central Committee. In 1987, Scholz crossed the inner-German border again and stood up for disarmament agreements as Juso-Vice at an FDJ peace rally in Wittenberg alongside FDJ head Eberhard Aurich . Scholz was elected to his first political office as a Deputy Member of the Bundestag representing

4230-565: The Federal Republic of Germany for Cultural Affairs under the Treaty on Franco-German Cooperation . In 2013, Scholz opposed a public initiative aiming at a complete buyback of energy grids that the city of Hamburg had sold to utilities Vattenfall Europe AG and E.ON decades before; he argued this would overburden the city, whose debt stood at more than €20B at the time. Scholz was asked to participate in exploratory talks between

4324-690: The Greens and the Free Democratic Party , after the 2021 federal election . The SPD is a member of 11 of the 16 German state governments and is a leading partner in seven of them. The SPD was founded in 1875 from a merger of smaller socialist parties, and grew rapidly after the lifting of Germany's repressive Anti-Socialist Laws in 1890 to become the largest socialist party in Western Europe until 1933. In 1891, it adopted its Marxist -influenced Erfurt Program , though in practice it

4418-592: The Großlohering elementary school in Großlohe. After graduating from high school in 1977, he began studying law at the University of Hamburg in 1978 as part of a one-stage legal training course. He later found employment as a lawyer specialising in labour and employment law, working at the law firm Zimmermann, Scholz und Partner. Scholz joined the Social Democratic Party at the age of 17. Scholz's family

4512-704: The Interior of Hamburg in the Senate led by Mayor Ortwin Runde . Wrocklage had resigned due to allegations of nepotism. He also succeeded Wrocklage as Deputy Member of the Bundesrat . During his brief time as Senator, Scholz controversially approved the involuntary use of emetics to gather evidence from suspected drug dealers. The Hamburg Medical Chamber expressed disapproval of this practice due to potential health risks. Scholz left office in October 2001, after

4606-438: The Nazi Sturmabteilung . The Nazis overtook the SPD as the largest party in July 1932 and Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor in January 1933. Of the parties present in the Reichstag during the passage of the Enabling Act of 1933 , the SPD was the only one to vote against; most of the communist deputies had been arrested ahead of the vote. The SPD was banned in June. Many members were subsequently imprisoned and killed by

4700-427: The SPD became one of two major parties, alongside the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) . In the inaugural 1949 federal election , it placed second with 29.2 per cent of votes and led the opposition to the CDU government. In its 1959 Godesberg Program , the party dropped its commitment to Marxism and sought to appeal to middle class voters, becoming a big tent party of the centre-left. Although strongly leftist ,

4794-400: The SPD initially opposed both the social market economy and Konrad Adenauer 's drive towards Western integration fiercely; after Schumacher's death, however, it accepted the social market economy and Germany's position in the Western alliance in order to appeal to a broader range of voters. It still remains associated with the economic causes of unionised employees and working class voters. In

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4888-437: The SPD was willing to compromise. Only through its support did the governing CDU/CSU pass a denazification law that its coalition partner the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the far-right German Party voted against. At the same time, the SPD opposed the pro-West integration of West Germany because they believed that made a re-unification of Germany impossible. Austria could have become a sovereign neutral state in 1956, but

4982-524: The SPD's stance towards renewable energy. The revised Climate Protection Act introduced by Olaf Scholz's cabinet as Mayor of Hamburg provides for a 65% reduction in CO 2 emissions by 2030, an 88% reduction by 2040 and climate neutrality by 2045. Scholz has advocated for the expansion of renewable energy capacities to replace fossil fuels. In May 2021, Scholz proposed the establishment of an international climate club, which should serve to develop common minimum standards for climate policy measures and

5076-527: The SPD, Scholz is widely viewed as forming part of the moderate wing of the party. Because of his flat enunciation and mechanical-sounding choice of words in press conferences and interviews, Scholz has been nicknamed "the Scholzomat" by some media outlets. In 2013, he said that he found the nickname "very appropriate". In January 2019, Scholz stated that he sees China primarily as an economic partner. He tried to persuade Chinese Vice Premier Liu He that China should be more open to German firms, and he supported

5170-451: The Social Democratic Party entered the fourth Merkel government in 2018, Scholz was appointed as both minister of finance and Vice Chancellor of Germany. In 2020, he was nominated as the SPD's candidate for Chancellor of Germany for the 2021 federal election . The party won a plurality of seats in the Bundestag and formed a " traffic light coalition " with Alliance 90/The Greens and the Free Democratic Party . On 8 December 2021, Scholz

5264-406: The Social Democratic Party. Scholz was one of a series of politicians who sparked debate over the German journalistic norm of allowing interviewees to "authorize" and amend quotes before publication. This came after his press team insisted on extensively editing an interview with Die Tageszeitung in 2003. Die Tageszeitung editor Bascha Mika condemned the norm as a "betrayal of the claim to

5358-421: The US Joe Biden to agree to the proposal, which his predecessor Donald Trump had been opposed to. Also in June 2021, Scholz oversaw the Federal Central Tax Office's purchase of information regarding German citizens using Dubai for tax avoidance and evasion . Scholz was criticized in the context of the Wirecard scandal ; serious misconduct by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), which

5452-468: The World Economy commissioned by the Federal Government in 2020 certified the same deficiencies in the tax concept that Tenhagen had already pointed out. During his tenure as minister of finance, Scholz prioritized not taking on new government debt and limiting public spending. In 2018, he suggested the creation of an EU-wide unemployment insurance system to make the Eurozone more resilient to future economic shocks. In September 2019, Scholz negotiated

5546-409: The allocation of funding received from Next Generation EU , the European Union's €750B COVID-19 recovery fund. 90% of the €28B available to Germany was invested into climate protection and digitization . At the G7 summit in June 2021, the G7 agreed on a global minimum corporate tax rate of at least 15%, which had been proposed by Scholz. Scholz is credited as having convinced President of

5640-448: The classical social democrats continue to defend classical left-wing policies and the welfare state. The Keynesian left-wing of the SPD claims that in recent years the welfare state has been curtailed through reform programs such as the Agenda 2010, Hartz IV , and the more economic liberal stance of the SPD which were endorsed by centrist social democrats. In reaction to Agenda 2010, an inner-party dissident movement developed, leading to

5734-584: The climate package in a key role for the SPD. To this he said: "What we have presented is a great achievement", whereas climate scientists almost unanimously criticized the result as insufficient. In August 2020, Scholz held a phone call with US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin , discussing a lift of US sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, one of 23 gas pipelines between Europe and Russia. In exchange, Scholz offered €1B in subsidies to liquid gas terminals in northern Germany for US liquid gas imports. The move sparked controversy with regards to

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5828-449: The coalition agreement. Scholz was born on 14 June 1958, in Osnabrück , Lower Saxony , and grew up in Hamburg 's Rahlstedt district. His parents worked in the textile industry . He has two younger brothers, Jens Scholz, an anesthesiologist and CEO of the University Medical Center Schleswig Holstein ; and Ingo Scholz, a tech entrepreneur. Olaf Scholz attended the Bekassinenau elementary school in Oldenfelde, and then switched to

5922-506: The constituency of Hamburg-Altona in 1998 , aged 40. During his tenure, Scholz served on the Committee for Labor and Social Matters . In the committee of inquiry into the visa affair of the Bundestag, he was chairman of the SPD parliamentary group. Scholz resigned his mandate on 6 June 2001, to take office as Senator. Because his seat was an overhang seat , it was not filled until the 2002 German federal election . On 30 May 2001, Scholz succeeded Hartmuth Wrocklage to become Senator for

6016-627: The defeat of his party at the 2001 Hamburg state election and the election of Ole von Beust as First Mayor. His successor was Ronald Schill , who had won on a Law and order platform, with an emphasis on harsh penalties for drug dealers. Scholz was elected again to the Bundestag in the 2002 German federal election . From 2002 to 2004, Scholz also served as General Secretary of the SPD ; he resigned from that office when party leader and Chancellor Gerhard Schröder , facing disaffection within his own party and hampered by persistently low public approval ratings, announced he would step down as Leader of

6110-422: The first Merkel Government , succeeding Franz Müntefering . Following the 2009 federal election , when the SPD left the Government, Scholz was elected as Deputy Leader of the SPD, replacing Frank-Walter Steinmeier . Between 2009 and 2011, he was also a member of the SPD group's Afghanistan/Pakistan Task Force. In 2010, he participated in the annual Bilderberg Meeting in Sitges , Spain. In 2011, Scholz

6204-584: The foundation of the new party Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative ( Arbeit & soziale Gerechtigkeit – Die Wahlalternative , WASG) in 2005, which later merged into The Left ( Die Linke ) in 2007. The Parlamentarische Linke comprises left-wing SPD Members of the German Bundestag . Prior to World War II, as the main non-revolutionary left-wing party, the Social Democrats fared best among non- Catholic workers as well as intellectuals favouring social progressive causes and increased economic equality. Led by Kurt Schumacher after World War II,

6298-400: The introduction of this tax at European Union level. According to a draft legislation, share purchases should be taxed when they involve shares in companies with a market capitalization over €1B . Journalist Hermann-Josef Tenhagen criticized this version of the transaction tax on the basis that it would disproportionately affect lower-income individuals. A report by the Kiel Institute for

6392-635: The law, arguing that it was too strict, that it would force companies to stop operations in regions with poor human rights records, and that "foreign companies that do not have to comply with the German rules will jump in and replace German companies." Observers have described the difficulties of performing independent inspections in Xinjiang , China , where there have been reports of forced labor in Xinjiang internment camps . Auditors have reported harassment by Chinese police and state security officers. In 2024, German Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck ( Greens ) saw comprehensive reporting obligations as

6486-419: The main industries, have provided a significant base for the SPD in the 20th century. In the city of Bremen , the SPD has continuously governed since 1949. In southern Germany, the SPD typically garners less support except in the largest cities. At the 2009 federal election , the party lost its only constituency in the entire state of Bavaria (in Munich ). Small town and rural support comes especially from

6580-441: The most popular party in German federal elections from 1890 onward, although it was surpassed by other parties in terms of seats won in the Reichstag due to the electoral system. In the years leading up to World War I , the SPD remained radical in principle, but moderate in reality. According to Roger Eatwell and Anthony Wright, the SPD became a party of reform, with social democracy representing "a party that strives after

6674-421: The most votes in the first round of the membership elections on 26 October 2019, with 22.7%. They qualified for the runoff election with the second-placed team Saskia Esken and Norbert Walter-Borjans , which had received 21.0% of the vote. On 30 November 2019, it was announced that Esken and Walter-Borjans had received 53.1% of the vote in the runoff election, with Geywitz and Scholz only receiving 45.3%. This

6768-613: The party platform, political freedom , justice and social solidarity form the basis of social democracy. The SPD is mostly composed of members belonging to either of the two main wings, namely the Keynesian social democrats and Third Way moderate social democrats belonging to the Seeheimer Kreis . While the more moderate Seeheimer Kreis generally support the Agenda 2010 programs introduced by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder ,

6862-416: The party's candidate for Chancellor of Germany at the 2021 federal election . Scholz is usually grouped with the moderate wing of the SPD, and his nomination was seen by Die Tageszeitung as marking a decline of the party's left. Scholz led the SPD to a narrow victory in the election, with the party receiving 25.8% of the second votes and 206 seats in the Bundestag . Following this victory, Scholz

6956-414: The post of Finance Minister at the time; whilst Schäuble remained in post, the talks to form a coalition were ultimately successful. In a paper compiled in late 2014, Scholz and Schäuble proposed redirecting revenue from the solidarity surcharge on income and corporate tax ( Solidaritätszuschlag ) to subsidize the federal states' interest payments. Under Scholz's leadership, the Social Democrats won

7050-464: The socialist transformation of society by the means of democratic and economic reforms". They emphasise this development as central to understanding 20th-century social democracy, of which the SPD was a major influence. In the 1912 federal election , the SPD won 34.8 per cent of votes and became the largest party in the Reichstag with 110 seats, although it was still excluded from government. Despite

7144-399: The state level. From August until October 2010, senior Bundestag member Joachim Poß served as interim Bundestag leader in the absence of Frank-Walter Steinmeier , who was recovering from donating a kidney to his wife. The SPD, at times called SAPD, took part in general elections determining the composition of parliament. For elections up until 1933, the parliament was called

7238-446: The terms of the law can face fines of up to two percent of the company's annual revenues. The law came into effect starting with 2023, only applying to companies with over 3000 employees in its first year. As of now, the law only applies to one group of companies: Companies that have their central administration, their principal place of business, their administrative headquarters or their statutory seat in Germany or companies that have

7332-408: The traditionally Protestant areas of northern Germany and Brandenburg (with previous exceptions such as Western Pomerania where CDU leader Angela Merkel held her constituency, which the SPD gained in 2021) and a number of university towns. A striking example of the general pattern is the traditionally Catholic Emsland , where the Social Democrats generally gain a low percentage of votes, whereas

7426-528: The use of coal by 2038. In addition, the agreement set a phaseout of power generation from natural gas by 2040. The agreement also included provisions for the prohibition on natural gas heating in new buildings and replacement of natural gas systems in existing buildings. An end to the sale of combustion vehicles would come in 2035, in line with the target set by the European Commission . In December 2019, Scholz criticized US sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, saying: "Such sanctions are

7520-425: Was 25 till 1918, 20 till 1946, 21 till 1972 and 18 since), the number of seats (fixed or flexible) and the length of the legislative period (three or four years). The list begins after the SPD was formed in 1875, when labour parties unified to form the SPD (then SAPD, current name since 1890). Olaf Scholz Olaf Scholz ( German: [ˈoːlaf ˈʃɔlts] ; born ( 1958-06-14 ) 14 June 1958)

7614-665: Was Deputy Federal Chairman of the Jusos. Scholz was also Vice President of the International Union of Socialist Youth from 1987 to 1989. He supported the Freudenberger Kreis, a Marxist wing of the Jusos' university groups, arguing that society should "overcome the capitalist economy" in one of his publications. In it, Scholz criticized the "aggressive-imperialist NATO ", the Federal Republic as

7708-439: Was appointed Federal Minister of Finance . Scholz was sworn in alongside the rest of the fourth Merkel cabinet on 14 March 2018, also taking the role of Vice Chancellor of Germany under Angela Merkel . Within his first months in office, Scholz became one of Germany's most popular politicians, reaching an approval rating of 50%. In 2019, Scholz ran for leader of the SPD, but lost to Norbert Walter-Borjans . In response to

7802-510: Was criticised for his handling of riots that took place during the G20 summit in Hamburg. In late 2021, Scholz was widely criticised for his handling of the CumEx tax fraud at M. M. Warburg & Co. when he was the mayor of Hamburg. After a lengthy period of inter-party negotiations following the 2017 federal election , during which the CDU, CSU and SPD agreed to continue in coalition, Scholz

7896-462: Was elected and sworn in as chancellor by the Bundestag, succeeding Angela Merkel . As chancellor, Scholz has overseen Germany's response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . Despite giving a restrained and timid response compared to many other Western leaders, Scholz oversaw a significant increase in the German defence budget, weapons shipments to Ukraine , and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline

7990-545: Was established as a Marxist party in 1875. It underwent a major shift in policies, reflected in the differences between the Heidelberg Program of 1925 which called for "the transformation of the capitalist system of private ownership of the means of production to social ownership" and the Godesberg Program of 1959 which aimed to broaden the party's voter base and to move its political position toward

8084-457: Was held by Social Democrats until the 1920 federal election , when the SPD lost a substantial portion of its support, falling to 22 per cent of votes. After this, the SPD yielded the chancellery to other parties, although it remained part of the government until 1924. Ebert died in 1925 and was succeeded by conservative Paul von Hindenburg . After making gains in the 1928 federal election , the SPD's Hermann Müller became chancellor. As Germany

8178-470: Was moderate and focused on building working-class organizations. In the 1912 federal election , the SPD won 34.8 percent of votes and became the largest party in the Reichstag , but was still excluded from government. After the start of the First World War in 1914, the party split between a pro-war mainstream and the anti-war Independent Social Democratic Party , some members of which later formed

8272-466: Was put on hold. Three days after the invasion, Scholz set out the principles of a new German defence policy in his Zeitenwende speech . In September 2022, three of the four Nord Stream pipelines were destroyed . During the Israel–Hamas war , he authorized substantial German military and medical aid to Israel, and denounced the actions of Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups . In November 2023,

8366-505: Was refounded. It merged with the West German party in 1990, shortly before German reunification . The SPD returned to government under Gerhard Schröder after the 1998 federal election in a coalition with The Greens . This government was re-elected in 2002 but defeated in 2005 . The SPD then became junior partner of a grand coalition with the CDU/CSU until 2009 . After a term in opposition, they again served as junior partner to

8460-494: Was seen as an upset victory for the left-wing of the SPD, including skeptics of the grand coalition with the CDU . Esken and Walter-Borjans were little-known to the public at large, Esken being a backbencher in the Bundestag and Walter-Borjans being the former Minister of Finance of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2010 to 2017. Scholz on the other hand had the backing of much of the party establishment. On 10 August 2020, SPD party leadership agreed that it would nominate Scholz to be

8554-485: Was struck hard by the Great Depression , and unable to negotiate an effective response to the crisis, Müller resigned in 1930. The SPD was sidelined as the Nazi Party gained popularity and conservatives dominated the government, assisted by Hindenburg's frequent use of emergency powers . The Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold , the SPD's paramilitary wing, was frequently involved in violent confrontations with

8648-534: Was subsequently banned, and operated in exile as the Sopade . After the Second World War from 1939 to 1945, the SPD was re-established. In East Germany , it merged with the KPD under duress to form the Socialist Unity Party of Germany . In West Germany , the SPD became one of two major parties alongside the CDU/CSU . In its Godesberg Program of 1959, the SPD dropped its commitment to Marxism, becoming

8742-609: Was the lead SPD candidate at the Hamburg state election , which the SPD won with 48.3% of the votes, taking 62 of 121 seats in the Hamburg Parliament . Scholz resigned as a Member of the Bundestag on 11 March 2011, days after his formal election as First Mayor of Hamburg; Dorothee Stapelfeldt , also a Social Democrat, was appointed his Deputy First Mayor. In his capacity as First Mayor, Scholz represented Hamburg and Germany internationally. On 7 June 2011, Scholz attended

8836-406: Was widely considered to be the most likely next Chancellor of Germany in a traffic light coalition with The Greens and the Free Democratic Party . On 24 November, the SPD, Green and FDP reached a coalition agreement , naming Scholz as the new German chancellor. Scholz was elected chancellor by the Bundestag on 8 December 2021, with 395 votes in favour and 303 against. His new government

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