On the Willy Brandt trail - Al-Mubadara visits during the SPD election campaign

Elections and election campaigns are indispensable features of functioning democracies. Both demonstrate the extent to which parties and politicians are capable of proving themselves accountable, as well as of directing the popular will along democratic lines.

It is in this spirit that over a number of years, an exchange has developed between the SPD and the Palestinian party Al-Mubadara (the Palestinian National Initiative). Visits to the Palestinian territories by German politicians and experts form part of this exchange, as do working trips to Germany by Palestinian activists and high-ranking politicians. In the run-up to the German parliamentary elections, an Al-Mubadara delegation took the opportunity to visit the election campaign in Berlin and Schleswig-Holstein with the support and coordination of FES Jerusalem. The eight-strong delegation, comprising Al-Mubadara chairpersons from various parts of the West Bank, visited Germany from September 6 through 13 at the invitation of FES Jerusalem.

The delegation’s program involved familiarizing itself with all facets of the German electoral system. Seminars about the German party system, as well as talks at the interior and foreign ministries, elucidated the framework in which Germany’s party and election system fits. The question of how Germany assures fair representation of all sections of the electorate was of major interest in the discussions. During a visit to the Willy Brandt House in Berlin, participants were shown the efforts that are invested in planning a centrally controlled election campaign.

In the second part of the visit, participants were plunged into the heart of Germany’s election campaign. They attended a number of events, where they were shown the complexity of planning and running an election campaign. It was not just a question of winning over various political sections for their inherent significance – voting took place at the same time for the German federal parliament, in addition to the Schleswig-Holstein regional elections – it was also necessary to convey a whole series of topics and to address different groups of voters.

On the local and regional level, the Al-Mubadara activists accompanied the SPD’s leading candidate in Schleswig-Holstein, Dr. Ralf Stegner. On a number of occasions – an information evening in Ahrensburg, an open-air festival in Stegner’s home town of Bordesholm, and a political discussion evening with former Minister-President Heide Simonis – participants were able to get an impression of the election campaign’s multifaceted nature. This also included direct contact with people, such as during question-and-answer conversations in Schleswig-Holstein’s pedestrian zones. A high point was the fact that participants were able to accompany Ralf Stegner in his campaign bus as it traveled from one location to the next.

A meeting with workers and trade union representatives of the IG Metall labor federation at the Kieler Lindenau-Werft ship builders was intended among other things to show that people’s tangible needs are what must dominate the content of a successful election campaign.

The high point of the trip was the visit to a rally in Bremen held by the SPD candidate for chancellor, Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The Palestinian participants were impressed by the professional organization and the large turnout. There was even a chance for them to have a talk with Steinmeier, in which the Al-Mubadara activists wished him great success in his campaign. For his part, Steinmeier expressed his best wishes and his solidarity with the Palestinian party, whose secretary general, Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, is a friend of Steinmeier’s.

The participants agreed that they had acquired many new ideas, which they wish to apply in the Palestinian election campaign. This might soon be of major importance. Regular presidential and parliamentary elections are due to be held in the Palestinian territories in February 2010, and Al-Mubadara will be participating with great hopes. FES Jerusalem will continue to provide its backing to Al-Mubadara and provide it with cooperation and support.