Donald Trump has r/the_Donald. Bernie Sanders has his dank meme stash. Ed Miliband has Milifandom.

Now, German politician Martin Schulz has his own meme-making enthusiasts, who are supporting his bid to be German chancellor. Welcome to the world of r/The_Schulz.

Memes have become a strange currency in politics. When Trump was elected, someone on 4chan wrote: “We actually elected a meme as president”. Whether they really make a difference to a campaign is debated. After all, liberal memes will spread in liberal circles, and vice versa for the right. But they’re now an inevitable part of political discourse on the internet.

Just as the fake news debate has arrived in Germany in time for the Bundestag elections, so too have high-profile political memes. The moderators of The Schulz dub the subreddit as “semi-serious satire”, kickstarted when the former president of the European parliament announced he was standing down in order to seek a seat in Germany’s Bundestag.

Like many in the German and international media, moderator Derausmwaldkam, who preferred to remain anonymous, said they anticipated Schulz’s return to German politics would mean a bid for chancellor. It also came at a time when the Trump-supporting subreddit, r/the_Donald, was “at its peak” in spamming Reddit’s front page.

“We wanted to do a mocking satire of those right-wing subs by copying their style and methods, but full of friendship and pro-Europe stuff instead of the general hate, fake news, conspiracies etc.”

Schulz memes tend to be wholesome in nature. The main image dominating the sub is a riff on the Obama “hope” poster. Others play with established memes, portraying Schulz as a man of the people and, well, pretty cool.

Their catchphrases include: “Make Europe Great Again” (MEGA) and references to the unstoppable Schulz train with “keine Bremsen” (no brakes).

An example of a post on r/The_Schulz, a subreddit dedicated to German chancellor candidate Martin Schulz. Photograph: r/The_Schulz

Part of the reason he has become so popular is because Schulz was fairly unknown in the sphere of political internet memes. According to Derausmwaldkam, many Germans knew of Schulz only from an incident when he kicked out a Golden Dawn member from the European parliament for calling Turkish people “wild dogs”.

“As he was so unknown to many, it was easy to create a positive picture of him, of his “new” ideas. He didn’t have that negative background of being a ‘like every other politician’.”

Screengrab of r/The_Schulz, a subreddit dedicated to Martin Schulz, leader of SPD Photograph: r/The_Schulz

As with the best memes, they’re not restricted to one social platform. An account called @keinebremsen regularly posts Schulz memes on Twitter.

Of course, the big difference between r/the_Donald and r/the_Schulz, aside from nationality and a tongue-in-cheek self-awareness, is the politics themselves. Trump on the right, and Schulz on the left.

Derausmwaldkam thinks Trump’s success in the US shows election campaigns “aren’t about political views anymore – they are about how people feel, what they think.”

“A lot of people get their news and even their opinions from Facebook. That’s why fake news is such a big problem.

“So being a bit populistic, breaking down complex themes into something as easy as a meme, which is hopefully funny, can reach a lot of people.

“It’s about creating a positive image of that person.”

Most of the sub’s users are from German-speaking countries, but they occasionally have international visitors, “mainly asking what is this all about”.



As for the man himself – he’s well aware of his growing fanbase on Reddit. He has yet to respond to the Guardian’s request for comment, but shortly after SPD chose him as their Bundeskanzler candidate, he made a short video thanking them for their support, calling it “engaging, creative and thoroughly enjoyable”.

He added: “You’ve unleashed a wave that is a big help for me.”

Initially r/The_Schulz’s moderators thought someone was playing a trick on them. Now it’s hailed as the sub’s biggest triumph.

“The community, of course freaked out,” said Derausmwaldkam. “We as mods also thought – holy damn, we did it!”

Last week, a poll conducted by German network ARD revealed 50% of Germans would like a government led by Schulz’s SPD. Since Schulz was named SPD’s candidate, the party has reached its highest approval rating since 2013; one poll even put them ahead of Angela Merkel’s CDU. However, the jury’s still out on whether it’s all down to the memes – and polls aren’t ever the entire story.

The moderators of r/the_Schulz say they have heard from people who have become members of SPD after seeing some of their memes, but the real test of whether Schulz’s meme-ability leads to electability will come in September, when Germany’s elections take place.