SPD on democracy and the state

The SPD wants to hire more judges, prosecutors and other court staff to speed up proceedings. It also plans a single justice act, a victim protection office and safeguards meant to shield the judiciary from extremist influence.

The SPD wants to hire more judges and prosecutors. Courts should decide faster. The rules for the justice system should be in one single law. There should be a special office for victims of crime.

State rules on the justice system, so far spread across several laws and regulations, are to be brought together for the first time in one justice act so they are easier to find. Preventive measures are meant to stop extremist forces from hollowing out the constitutional order and endangering judicial independence. For mass proceedings, such as air passenger rights cases, courts are to get modern technology. Bailiff training will be modernized, and the number of legal traineeship places will at least stay the same.

The SPD wants to continue the state's financial support for municipalities and relaunch municipal investment programs. This is meant to let towns adapt their infrastructure, especially for social services and education, to a growing population.

The SPD wants to keep giving towns and villages a lot of money. There should be new programs for investment. Towns can use them to build schools and daycare centers, for example. The state also wants to help towns with computer work.

Municipal budget law is to be changed so that mandatory investments become easier. The association "Digitale Kommunen Brandenburg" (DIKOM) is to become the central IT service provider for municipalities and counties. The state and municipalities are to position themselves as attractive employers to recruit administrative staff. At the same time, state finances are to stay sound. The state wants to give municipalities more support in developing commercial sites of statewide importance.

The SPD wants to review all state tasks and legal provisions in Brandenburg in order to remove what it sees as unnecessary bureaucracy. For this, the state parliament is to set up a special committee.

The SPD wants less red tape. Red tape here means many rules and forms. All state rules should be checked. A special group in the state parliament should do this. In the end there should be fewer rules than today.

The program justifies the plan by saying that laws grown over decades cause a lot of effort for citizens, businesses and administrations. By the end of the 2020s, the number of norms and standards is to fall rather than rise. Procedures are to become simpler and processes faster. In the SPD's view, satisfaction with the administration depends on whether its actions are understandable.

The SPD wants to strengthen the "Tolerantes Brandenburg" (Tolerant Brandenburg) action plan and fund projects against right-wing extremism permanently. The program calls right-wing extremism and racism the greatest danger to democracy in the state.

The SPD wants to strengthen the "Tolerant Brandenburg" program. It works against right-wing extremism and for democracy. Projects for this should get money permanently. Local groups should also get more help.

The action plan and its civil-society advisory system are to be strengthened and developed further together with the Bündnis für Brandenburg (Alliance for Brandenburg). Funding for projects that strengthen democracy and counter right-wing extremism is to be made permanent and expanded. Local alliances for volunteering and cohesion are to be set up in as many towns as possible. The plans against racism, Islamism and antisemitism are to be given resources and implemented step by step. The "Zusammenhalt" (Cohesion) funding program is to get at least two more rounds by 2029 at the same volume.

The SPD wants to keep pushing for more East Germans in leadership positions. The program argues that acceptance of democracy also depends on identification and that East German perspectives are often missing at the top levels.

The SPD wants more East Germans in leading jobs. The SPD says there are too few of them so far. That should change. Then more people can see themselves in democracy.

According to the program, there is a large gap in the representation of East Germans across all areas, both in eastern Germany and nationwide. As a success so far, the SPD cites that an East German became a judge at the Federal Constitutional Court for the first time. The party wants to continue pursuing this goal.