Discontent in SPD: SPD state chiefs call for waiver of cuts in housing allowance

In the SPD, resistance is growing against their ministers' policies in the black-red federal government. In a letter, SPD leaders from Berlin and Schleswig-Holstein demand the cancellation of planned cuts to housing benefits. These cuts would affect people already struggling with rising living and household costs, write Steffen Krach and Ulf Kämpfer.

The situation for these individuals would be exacerbated, stating that "for us as Social Democrats, this creates a political problem," according to the letter first reported by "Focus." "We can't credibly campaign for affordable housing in the Landtag election campaign and simultaneously claim that people who can barely afford their homes despite work or retirement will receive less support in the future," Krach and Kämpfer wrote to their party colleague Verena Hubertz.

"We expect you to adjust the submitted draft accordingly." Hubertz herself declined to comment on the letter upon request. Concerns in the SPD's grassroots and party branches have become more frequent, especially directed at party leaders Baerbel Bas and Lars Klingbeil. The Migration and Diversity Working Group within the SPD called for a special party congress to elect new leadership still this autumn.

"I see a party dying," said Orkan Özdemir, one of the AG's co-chairmen, justifying the move. People wouldn't know anymore what the SPD stood for. Without change, "that's the end of the party." The SPD Lower House district of Bielefeld openly called on Bas and Klingbeil to choose between the party leadership and their ministerial positions.

A possible upheaval could come after the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt (6 September), Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Berlin (both 20 September). The SPD is performing poorly in surveys, particularly in Saxony-Anhalt and Berlin. Schleswig-Holstein will elect a new Landtag in April 2027. The housing benefit cut would hit many people.

The federal cabinet had approved a draft by Housing Minister Hubertz, aiming to save at least 1.5 billion euros in 2027 and two billion euros annually from 2028. The target group for the reduced payments is estimated to be a few hundred thousand people. The final say lies with the Bundestag.