BERLIN, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The left-wing faction of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) has called for a significant ideological change of course in the party, preparing for four years in parliamentary opposition, newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported Monday.
In response to the party's popularity falling to a historically low voter share of 20.5 percent, it should abandon the controversial "Agenda 2020" labor market policies adopted by former SPD chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Instead, it should focus on the goal of "distributive justice," according to a resolution circulated internally by the SPD over the weekend, as cited by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
The group led by SPD parliamentary delegate Hilde Mattheis further called for a far-reaching personnel reshuffle in the party, including in parliamentary committees. Voters needed to see that the election result was followed by consequences.
The SPD recorded its worst electoral performance since World War II in German federal elections on Sept. 24 and has since announced that it would return to the opposition benches.
