(de-news.net) – Sigmar Gabriel, the former leader of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), has urged the party to recalibrate its political agenda so that it more accurately reflects the country’s contemporary social and economic realities. In an interview, he criticized the SPD for setting its priorities incorrectly, emphasizing that such misalignment extends beyond general policy debates and directly influences the formulation of social welfare programs. Gabriel suggested that the party should confront these challenges with the same pragmatism and strategic foresight demonstrated in the 1959 Godesberg Program, when the SPD undertook a historic transformation from a socialist workers’ party into a broad-based people’s party. At that time, the party explicitly embraced the principles of the market economy and affirmed its commitment to national defense, signaling a shift toward policies capable of appealing to a wider constituency while maintaining its core social-democratic identity.

He further warned that the SPD could not remain passive as German industry faced pronounced declines, arguing that inaction would undermine both the party’s credibility and its ability to influence economic policy effectively. While Gabriel acknowledged the welfare state as one of the 20th century’s most significant achievements, he stressed that continually creating new social benefits for every conceivable life situation was neither financially sustainable nor politically responsible. According to him, a balance must be struck between providing social protection and ensuring economic stability, underscoring the need for policy grounded in fiscal realism and long-term viability rather than symbolic or populist measures.

Gabriel was SPD chairman from late 2009 to early 2017. He served as Germany’s vice chancellor from December 2013 to March 2018.