by Johana Ginci
17th January 2020, 21:05 h

 New Poll suggests SLP doesn't reach what they've expected

The surprising incorporation of the Pirates into the Social Liberal Party caught many political experts off-guard.
Same applies to the voters that got questioned on their position of these new SLP tactics:

"I'm a bit disappointed. PPG was my home for my voice, was not one of those 'old parties', had their focus on the moving topics of the youth - and now they sold themselves to the old elite", comments Anna S. - PPG-voter in 2017 and member of the party. She won't be a SLP member in the future though.

"We now have more ressources and power to put our topics on the political agenda of a party that's almost guaranteed to win the most elections. Yes, we might lose our name or autonomy, but the vision is still here and maybe we can make them reality now quicker than before", says Pyt F., PPG-member since 2018 and future SLP member.

"The appeal of PPG was the mix out of sometimes far-left and sometimes very, very liberal positions. Now we're simply an average within a big swarm of old, almost conservative fish. And don't get me started on the missing grassroots democracy movement within SLP and stuff like that... I'll find a new home for my views eventually", summarises a PPG-member and 2017 voter, who wants to remain completely anonymous.

There's definitely a split to be seen in the soon-to-have vanished party, yet how does this affect the polls?
Let's take a look at it:



It's visible that, considering the climate change movement from last year as well as the current corruption scandal of SDP, SLP can't feel a sense of pride when looking at these numbers. Would Königspalast get a new election today, they'd lose percentages in comparison to 2017 albeit being in a better position than back then, having general support for most of their ideas. The main reason for that is a sense of mistrust and fatigue of the party that's already in power since more than a decade.
For young voters they seem too old, not innovative enough - even if they successfully incorporated the main points PPG was making in their campaigning program and even though they can also be seen as a very "green" party.
For the old voters, they seem too progressive, sticking too little to what's working well, wishing for a stronger leader than Kirchmann or Gianluca IV. are. The result is effectively that younger people go to the Greens or the other left-parties, the older people go to the conservative, yet diplomatic KPHA or the more liberal FPG.

Rumours from Atlantis are in the room, SLP is planning for a fusion with SDP too, but would this really be effective? Would that be a valid, fair and respected move to "eat up" political opponents or would that be a sword ready to behead the progressive center of the political spectrum in GI-Land completely?

Time will tell.