Saskia Esken visits Digel AG in Nagold, where she navigates through a large collection of men’s suits. Despite the decline in traditional suit wear among men, she engages in conversation with company chief Jochen Digel about family and local healthcare issues. As the chairwoman of the SPD, Esken reflects on her political career, her challenges in public perception, and her commitment to social justice. She navigates a critical time for her party, which struggles with low approval ratings amidst calls for change.
Suspended under the fluorescent lights, “Allan” and “Apollo” represent a suit jacket and trousers designed for the modern man, creating a slim-fit ensemble. Saskia Esken navigates a maze of these suits, neatly hung and plastic-wrapped in a warehouse filled with thousands of men’s suits. Her companion mentions that men are opting for traditional suits less frequently nowadays.
Esken responds with a distant “hm hm,” her gaze fixated ahead. Spotting three women positioned around plastic bins filled with forks, she offers a friendly “Guten Appetit.” The women glance up, reply with a polite “Mahlzeit,” and quickly return to their meals. The companion notes that ties are also becoming less fashionable, although they continue to feature in their offerings. Esken trails behind, “hm hm,” as lunchtime approaches.
In the cafeteria, she sits across from Jochen Digel, CEO of Digel AG. Together with his brother, he runs a family-owned men’s fashion business with 300 employees in Nagold, Baden-Württemberg, and 1200 globally. It’s a mid-October Monday and Esken is on a visit. On the wall, it reads “Quality, Appreciation, Commitment, Enthusiasm,” and amidst their spaghetti Bolognese, they discuss the plans of the local physicians’ association to close the emergency practice.
Digel shares that he often takes his three sons to the emergency room—one with a cut, another with a fracture, a common scenario with boys. Esken nods knowingly, mentioning she also has three children aged 25, 28, and 30. “But they’re past the worst of it,” she adds with a serious tone, before smiling at her joke, and Digel smiles back. Esken, now 63, appears comfortable in this informal setting.
Grounded and Local
Grounded and Local
This visit to Nagold feels familiar and welcoming. The residents are down-to-earth and relatable, just like her. Esken hails from the area, born in Stuttgart and raised in Renningen. Here, there are no pitfalls, mockery, or scorn. In Berlin, however, the situation is different, where political foes, journalists, and even her party members eagerly await her missteps. Despite having faced numerous challenges, Esken has remained the leader of the SPD for five years, often underestimated. Could she be one of Germany’s most underrated politicians?
It’s not easy for the public to approach Saskia Esken outside of official SPD events. Her spokesperson has repeatedly stated that accompanying her in her constituency isn’t feasible. In Nagold, she inquires with the NZZ about how they learned of her visit to Digel, visibly irritated by the vague response she receives. This suggests her discomfort with media interactions.
It’s Esken’s television appearances, particularly, that consistently spark discussions among viewers and party members alike. One notable moment occurred shortly after the Solingen terror attack when Esken, appearing on ARD’s “Caren Miosga,” was asked what lessons could be drawn from the event. She remarked that not much could be learned as the perpetrator was not known to the police.
By this time, it was known that the assailant should not have been in Germany, but deportation efforts had not been pursued adequately. This case exemplified Germany’s ongoing challenge with illegal and unregulated migration, a matter that has become a security risk. Esken later acknowledged that her statement was unwise and incorrect amid widespread outrage.
Esken’s Strong Convictions
Esken’s Strong Convictions
Just three months prior, she had referred to the AfD in Austrian media as a “Nazi party,” equating them with Joseph Goebbels. This too raised eyebrows, though Esken offered no apologies, unlike her reaction after the Solingen incident. This pattern depicts her decisive nature—she’s an ideologue and an advocate. She stands firmly for “Refugees welcome,” the “fight against the far-right,” “wealth tax,” and “social justice,” capturing key tenets of leftist social democracy.
In a May interview with the Austrian publication “Der Standard,” she suggested that migration does not create problems but solves many of them, such as those seen in the labor market due to a lack of skilled workers. She appears to overlook the connection between rising crime rates in Germany and predominantly male migrants from Muslim countries.
To understand Esken’s worldview, one must consider her background. She joined the SPD in 1990 at the age of 30, after a halted degree in German studies