The Social Democratic Party in Germany (SPD)  elected Matthias Platzeck, governor of the eastern state of Brandenberg, as its general secretary on Tuesday. His elevation to the position means that two leaders from the first generation of politicians to emerge after the fall of the Berlin Wall -- Platzeck and chancellor designate Angela Merkel -- will now be at the helm    of the two most powerful parties in a reunified Germany. During a party conference in Karlsruhe, SPD members honored Platzeck with the greatest number of votes bestowed on a general secretary since 1947 -- indeed, with 99.4 percent of the votes he even beat out the tremendously popular Willy Brandt, who scored 99.39 percent of the votes in 1966.

Platzeck's election follows a serious leadership crisis in the SPD that nearly threatened the negotiations to create a coalition government with the Christian Democrats. Former party chairman Franz Müntefering, who had agreed to become a member of the cabinet in the Merkel-led government  , suffered a massive defeat when his party's leadership voted in favor of nominating Andrea Nahles of the party's left-wing faction for the post of general secretary instead of his hand-picked canidate. A humiliated Müntefering resigned as chairman and said "under the current conditions," he was no longer certain he would continue to pursue a post in Merkel's cabinet. He did. But the event was deeply embarrassing for the SPD coming, as it did, in the middle of coalition negotiations. Nahles is a leading figure among the left wing of the SPD and a vocal critic of outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schröder's Agenda 2010 reform packages. And the power she demonstrated at this critical juncture in party decision-making cast serious doubts about whether the Christian Democrats would have a reliable government partner as they seek to implement needed reforms.

To assuage critics, party leaders quickly persuaded Nahles to step aside in favour of Hubertus Heil and then brought in Brandenburg's Platzeck to replace Müntefering as party chairman. A comparable newcomer, since he joined the SPD after the fall of the Wall, Platzeck is seen as a neutral player, uncorrupted by party interest groups. 

Commenting on Platzeck's election, the center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung believes the Social Democrats must be letting out a collective sigh of relief. "(T)he party's leadership crisis is over," the paper writes, "Platzeck managed to heal wounds and restore harmony and the party is also tangibly relieved that the failure of Schröder's government has not forced the SPD into the opposition for a long period." The paper notes that with as many cabinet posts as the SPD is being given in the new government, one might conclude that the party didn't make many mistakes when it ruled. The paper concludes that -- if the party believes Platzeck's statement that "Social Democrats don't make the same mistakes over and over again" -- they're going to have to take another critical look at the past seven years.

What easier way did the Social Democrats have of patching up their division and political disputes over the past few weeks than electing Platzeck to lead the party, asks the business daily Handelsblatt? The paper argues that party members know just about as much as the public about Platzeck: not much. But it was the simplest way for the party to conduct a show of unity after two weeks of internecine bickering. The paper is generally positive about Platzeck, saying he's an "outstanding rhetorician with an obvious claim to leadership," who has brought a new tone to the party. He believes that rather than sitting on its laurels and tradition, the SPD must also accept globalization and see it as an opportunity. "Platzeck is a potential modernizer," the editorial continues. "But in the coming weeks he needs to become more concrete. Only then will one be able to determine whether a new tone will translate into new policies." But the paper sees challenges ahead for Platzeck -- after all, he has a huge disadvantage: He's not part of the government like Merkel, who will be chancellor and lead the Christian Democrats. Neither is he part of the party's influential parliamentary group. To push through changes, he'll have to win over the SPD.

The conservative Die Welt, often disparagingly referred to as the "CDU's house newspaper" here in Germany, takes a look at Platzeck and, for once, is pleasantly surprised by what it sees in the Social Democrats. "No one, not even his supporters," the editorialist writes, "is likely to have expected more from Platzeck than a stable interregnum." But he's actually brought more: "Here we have witnessed a flash of something the SPD has not heard in a very, very long time -- hope and even enthusiasm." Instead of painting the picture of a victim of globalization as his party has been keen to do in recent months, Platzeck drew one of entrepreneurial people eager to learn. "Who would have though that education, the demand to 'become the manager of one's own life' could shift to the center of Social Democratic policy?" the paper wonders. "What is crucial here," the paper concludes, "is that it seems to be the only perspective with which the miners' party (a reference to the SPD's original coal-miner base) can survive in the era of computer programmers." 

The left-of-center national paper Süddeutsche Zeitung also spills plenty of positive ink in its coverage of Platzeck's election. "The new man at the top is a socialist of contrasts," the paper writes, "of the variety you haven't seen often in recent years as other leaders constantly came and went." During the past 10 years he has had a shining career and is nevertheless considered fresh and unsullied. He may be power hungry like every other politician, but he's also a modest one. "And though he may not have been raised as a dyed-in-the-wool Social Democrat, he speaks from his heart in social democratic terms -- so much so that it seems as though he has spun the wool himself." But for all his rosy talk about social justice and social democracy, Platzeck is still skeptical of ideologues -- an fact that is attributable to his experiences in communist East Germany. The implication here being that this experience could be useful if Platzeck is forced to do battle with the more ideological wings of his party. The Süddeutsche also sees greater potential in Platzeck, with his 99.4 percent popularity rating within the party. "If he deftly takes advantage of this trust, he could become the obvious next SPD chancellor candidate."