Within twenty-four hours of the Brexit vote, Sigmar Gabriel — Social Democratic Party (SPD) chairman, German vice chancellor, and minister of economic affairs — and EU Parliament President Martin Schulz published a strategy paper aimed at dealing with the legitimacy crisis of the European Union and the rise of the far right.

Brexit prompted new hopes and fears that the European Union’s market-liberal forces are weakening and forced many EU leaders and mainstream media figures alike to call for renewal. In this context, Gabriel and Schulz have adopted — some might say stolen — the left-wing demand for a “re-foundation of Europe” that “belongs to its citizens.”

Is this a “passive revolution”? Are Gabriel and Schulz trying to absorb left-wing opposition into the status quo in hopes of stabilizing a shaky power bloc? Or is this the clarion call for the SPD to return to its roots and revitalize? Are they following the path cleared by the class-conflict-oriented, anti–Third Way social democrats like Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders?