Social democratic voter initiative

The Social Democratic Voter Initiative (SWI) was an association of intellectuals founded in 1968 , which supported the SPD in various election campaigns until the 1980s .

The idea of the group goes back to an election campaign event for Jochen Steffen in March 1967 in Kiel . Günter Grass , Siegfried Lenz and Eberhard Jäckel , who appeared as speakers on this occasion, then discussed ways of supporting Willy Brandt in the next federal election in 1969 . A year later the first major meeting took place in Günter Grass' house in Berlin, in which several professors and journalists took part. In particular, the strategy of possible political engagement was discussed. This meeting was followed by the first media reports, which still used the term "Group Grass". In the following months numerous writers, actors, athletes, artists, journalists and university teachers joined the group, and local sub-groups were formed.

The commitment of those involved essentially consisted of the official commitment to vote for the SPD. This was unusual because the majority of intellectuals had held back from making public political statements since World War II.

After initially skeptical reactions from the SPD leadership, particularly Herbert Wehner , the party made an office in Bonn's Adenauerallee available to the alliance, which is now officially known as the “Social Democratic Voter Initiative” . The student functionary Erdmann Linde was appointed managing director and recruited a staff primarily from social democratic-minded students. Among other things, the SWI organized campaign appearances for its members and produced two campaign newspapers with contributions from several prominent supporters and a circulation of up to 500,000 copies.

The SWI was aimed at the enabling coalition of the SPD with the FDP in order to replace the grand coalition of the Kiesinger cabinet . They aimed at the liberal bourgeoisie and less at the classic SPD clientele in the working class. Attacks against their activities came from the CDU , but also from left-wing students.

After the election result of 1969, which from the SWI's point of view was a success and enabled the formation of the social-liberal coalition , the voter initiative at federal level was dissolved. However, numerous local associations within their framework remained.

After the failed constructive vote of no confidence in 1972 and in preparation for the resulting federal election , the electoral initiative became active again in its entirety. In addition to Grass and Lenz, Heinrich Böll now became one of their protagonists. The escalation towards the person of Willy Brandt was even stronger than in the election campaign of 1969. The slogan "Choose Willy" achieved great popularity, not least because of the SWI and its local groups, which grew to around 350. Occasionally, Catholic theologians even joined the initiative.

After another election success in 1972, Heinke Jaedicke became managing director. In the following years the activities of the SWI declined, even if in 1976 and 1980 it again supported the SPD with its candidate for chancellor Helmut Schmidt . The personal relationship between Schmidt and the SWI protagonists was tense. The avoidance of Franz Josef Strauss 's chancellorship increasingly became the most important argument for further activity in the SWI. At a crisis meeting in 1982, the main criticism was that the SWI was rarely active in actual political events or that it came into contact with broader sections of the population. In the following years, the public appearances continued to decline. In 1993 the SWI was dissolved. The organization's archive is now kept by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung .

Prominent supporters were: Horst Antes , Heinrich Böll , Paul Breitner , Katja Ebstein , Iring Fetscher , Peter Frankenfeld , Günter Grass , HAP Grieshaber , Otto Herbert Hajek , Klaus Havenstein , Hartmut von Hentig , Dieter Hildebrandt , Eberhard Jäckel , Thilo Koch , Hans- Joachim Kulenkampff , Siegfried Lenz , Dagobert Lindlau , Friedrich Luft , Loriot , Golo Mann , Inge Meysel , Rüdiger Proske , Heinz Rühmann , Volker Schlöndorff , Romy Schneider , Klaus Staeck , Horst Tappert and Margarethe von Trotta .

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Wigbert Loeer: Romy, Derrick, Golo Mann , in: Die Zeit, 35/1998
"From now on , the voter also speaks" , in: Der Spiegel, 48/1972