“Because the Left and the SPD have lost sight of their traditional clientele, namely disadvantaged people, for a long time and wanted to make a ‘chic’ left-wing policy that appeals to well-paid academics. It is becoming increasingly clear that there are serious problem areas in the country, which people from the lower middle class or underclass suffer most from. This affects the dilapidated education system, the poor health system, the too expensive living space, the dysfunctional local and long-distance transport and so on. The less politics proves that it recognizes and solves these problems, the less trust it gets from the people who are affected.”
– Writer and constitutional judge Juli Zeh on the question of why the previous electorate of the Left and the SPD apparently no longer feel taken seriously or represented by these parties, in “Chic left-wing politics is the problem”, Handelsblatt from 6., 7., 8. September 2024, page 50, no. 173
