After SPD’s German win, is Europe’s centre left on the rise?

Some say Covid has increased voters’ sense of social justice, but the picture remains uneven

After the German election, supporters react at the Social Democratic Party, SPD, headquarters in Berlin. Picture: AP Photo/Lisa Leutner

Social democracy is back, according to jubilant Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) officials. And after Germany’s oldest political party edged the narrowest of wins against its conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU)/Christian Social Union (CSU) rival, it may be tempting to believe Europe’s centre left is stirring.

Not everywhere, though: In France, the Socialist Party shows no sign of recovering from its near-obliteration in 2017, when it failed to make the second round of the presidential election and crashed from 280 MPs to 30 and just 7.4% of the vote.