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SPD

The elections for the 18th German Bundestag will be held in Germany on 22 September 2013.

28.08.2013
Susie Knoll - SPD
© Susie Knoll/SPD Peer Steinbrück
SPD
Party leader: Sigmar Gabriel 
Year of foundation: 1863
2009 election result: 146 seats
 
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) is the country’s oldest popular party. It stands for a social policy of the Centre-Left and emphasizes the primacy of politics over economics. Central values of the SPD are freedom, justice and solidarity. The Social Democrats would like to regulate the market economy through government economic policy and the implementation of legal and social policy measures – financed by the highest possible level of employment and a moderately redistributive taxation policy in favour of the less privileged. The SPD has had three Federal Chancellors; from 2005 to 2009 it assumed government responsibility in a grand coalition with the CDU/CSU.
 
 
Peer Steinbrück
SPD 2002–2005 Minister President NRW, 2005–2009 Federal Finance Minister
 
The economist is Angela Merkel’s main challenger as the SPD’s chancellorship candidate. Besides her, he is the only person with a realistic chance of moving into the Chancellery. The finance expert was born in Hamburg in 1947 and has been an SPD member since 1969. He is known for speaking frankly.