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SPD Migrants Slam Council’s Lack of Diversity

1. Background

In 2026 the SPD working group “Arbeitsgemeinschaft Migration und Vielfalt” publicly criticized the composition of the party-internal program council that is tasked with leading the work on the new Grundsatzprogramm. The group expressed strong concern about how the council was put together and the implications for diversity and migration policy inside the SPD.

1.1 Who raised the concern

Orkan Özdemir, the deputy chair of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Migration and Diversity, voiced the criticism. He emphasized that the current makeup of the program council lacks voices that can draw on lived experience to politically contextualize structural discrimination.

The program council in question is a 33-member body. The Arbeitsgemeinschaft pointed out that, in this 33-person group, expertise on migration and diversity is scarcely anchored.

2. Main concerns

The main criticisms focus on representation and subject-matter expertise. The Arbeitsgemeinschaft says migration expertise and perspectives on diversity are not sufficiently represented in the program council, and that important voices are missing when it comes to assessing structural discrimination from personal experience.

  • Lack of migration and diversity expertise in the program council
  • Insufficient representation of people with lived experience of structural discrimination
  • Concerns that policy discussions on the Grundsatzprogramm may lack key perspectives

3. Why representation matters

Representation of migrants and experts on diversity matters because it helps ensure that party principles and policies reflect real experiences and address structural inequalities. When voices with direct experience of discrimination are present, the political framing of problems and solutions is different than when those voices are absent.

  1. Informs policy with lived experience and practical knowledge
  2. Helps identify structural discrimination that might otherwise be overlooked
  3. Strengthens the credibility and inclusiveness of the Grundsatzprogramm

4. The Arbeitsgemeinschaft’s position

The Arbeitsgemeinschaft Migration and Diversity criticized the current composition of the program council and highlighted the need for stronger anchoring of diversity and migration expertise. Its message is that the voices capable of politically contextualizing structural discrimination should be part of the process that shapes the party’s basic program.

4.1 Implications for the Grundsatzprogramm

Because the program council leads work on the new Grundsatzprogramm, its makeup will influence how issues of migration, diversity and structural discrimination are understood and addressed within the party’s foundational policy document.

5. Conclusion

In short, the SPD working group on migration and diversity has sounded a clear warning: the 33-member program council lacks sufficient migration expertise and representation of people with lived experience of structural discrimination. As the SPD develops its Grundsatzprogramm in 2026, the debate over representation, diversity and credible expertise within party bodies remains central.

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