Personnel changes at the SPD: Suddenly campaign manager – Miersch faces a difficult mission

The SPD is going into the upcoming federal election campaign with a new general secretary. In place of Kevin Kühnert, who has resigned, parliamentary group vice-president Matthias Miersch will help restore stability and strength to the reeling Chancellor’s party, as party circles have revealed. After the vote by the presidium and party executive committee, the SPD leadership wants to officially explain its personnel proposal this afternoon (1:45 p.m.).

Miersch is also expected to come to the press conference in the Willy Brandt House. He will take over the post on an interim basis until the party conference next year.

The 35-year-old Kühnert justified his withdrawal for health reasons and a lack of energy for the upcoming election campaign. He also does not want to run for the Bundestag again next year.

Party leftist and future campaign manager

With Miersch, he is followed by an experienced and well-connected strategist. The 55-year-old from Lower Saxony has been a member of parliament since 2005. As deputy group leader, he is responsible for the environment, climate protection, energy, agriculture and consumer protection. Miersch is currently part of the leadership of the Parliamentary Left in the SPD.

According to the statute, as general secretary, Miersch will not only lead the party headquarters and coordinate party work. He is also responsible for the preparation and implementation of the federal election campaign. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil has already indicated that he wants to help organize the election campaign. As general secretary, he was jointly responsible for the Social Democrats’ election victory in 2021. The SPD is currently polling at around 16 percent, making it only half as strong as the Union.

Müntefering and Scholz were the first general secretaries

The Social Democrats created the office of General Secretary in 1999. The first incumbent was the later party leader and vice-chancellor Franz Müntefering. Other general secretaries also later went up the career ladder. Current Chancellor Olaf Scholz followed Müntefering to the post in 2002. The current Labor Minister Hubertus Heil, the later SPD leader Andrea Nahles and the current DGB leader Yasmin Fahimi also already held the office. Before Kühnert, Klingbeil was general secretary of the SPD, today he leads the party as chairwoman with Saskia Esken.

Miersch has already received support from the conservatives in the SPD. Dirk Wiese, also parliamentary group deputy and spokesman for the conservative Seeheimer Kreis in the SPD, told the “Rheinische Post” that he expressly welcomed the decision in favor of Miersch. “I appreciate and know him from our trusting collaboration over the past few years.” Wiese was convinced: “He will master the task.”

FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai wished Miersch a “good start” in his new office. The challenges for the country are enormous. Djir-Sarai emphasized that the collaboration with Kühnert was always humane and fair.

“Damn honest”, “never contemptuous” – Union people praise Kühnert

Politicians across party lines wished Kühnert a speedy recovery. Union politicians also paid him respect and emphasized fair treatment. CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann wrote on Platform X: “I got to know Kevin Kühnert as a damn honest colleague. The cooperation was always reliable and trusting despite political differences.”

Paul Ziemiak, CDU general secretary until 2022 and thus Kühnert’s opponent for a while, wrote on X that he had a lot of political arguments with Kühnert and mostly enjoyed them. “Personally, but always fair and never contemptuous,” emphasized Ziemiak.