Since the resignation of General Secretary Kevin Kühnert, Saskia Esken has been the weakest link in the SPD leadership. How long will this last?
On Monday evening last week, Saskia Esken rose from a comfortable armchair in the lobby of a Stockholm hotel. The last appointment of the day lights up on the cell phone. The SPD leader could well need a breather. About the tight program in the Swedish capital. Maybe also from the talk from Berlin that haunts them.
When asked about this, Esken weighs her words carefully before answering. “These are the laws of the market,” she says. A remarkable sentence for the leader of a party that is committed to solidarity.
Lots of frustration
If you take the market literally, Saskia Esken’s value has fallen sharply. Outside Berlin there are isolated but open calls for her to resign as co-chair of the SPD; A name for her potential successor is already being floated in the capital itself. A lot of frustration has built up among the Social Democrats who are looking for a target, and that appears to be Esken.
There is growing concern in the SPD that it will be pulverized in the 2025 federal election. In the polls, the Chancellor’s party has shrunk to 15 to 17 percent. If something doesn’t change quickly and radically, Germany’s oldest party will be heading for a defeat of historic proportions.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
