SPD leadership: “bottomless” and “disturbing”: dealing with Esken divides party

In parts of the party, the intra-party dealing with the SPD chairman Saskia Esken causes great outrage. Criticism of the debate about Esken’s political future comes from the SPD Presidium, the SPD youth organization and the working group of social democratic women.

“Style and thrust of this criticism are disturbing if you remember the condition of the SPD and the intra-party grave battles around the 2017 Bundestag election,” said Katja Pähle, member of the SPD Presidium, the German Press Agency. At that time, the SPD united 20.5 percent of the votes and increased to 25.7 percent in 2021.

Poosts stands behind ESKEN

The SPD had only become majority again because the party found, among other things, under Esken on the content of the content. The election defeat in the Bundestag election in February 2025 is not just Esken’s fault: “It would be grossly unfair to pass on the sole responsibility.” The SPD had experienced a disaster at 16.4 percent. All strategic orientations and the co-chair Lars Klingbeil would have made Olaf Scholz in coordination with the managing Chancellor Olaf Scholz, but defended the co-party leader.

The SPD leadership will be re-elected in June. In the past few days, several influential SPD politicians have spoken out for a remaining on the SPD leadership, while Esken’s role is discussed.

Klingbeil has been party leader in addition to Esken since 2021, who has held the CO chair since 2019. He is considered a new strong man in the SPD and is also traded as finance minister in a cabinet by Friedrich Merz (CDU). In the past few days, among other things, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s head of government Manuela Schwesig and the Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Alexander Schweitzer had spoken out for his whereabouts at the party tip. The former Bärbel BAS (SPD) said “Tagesspiegel” in Berlin: “If Lars Klingbeil opted for a new candidacy as a party chairman, I will support this.”

Poal, on the other hand, clearly stands behind Esken: “For a strong SPD, the political experience and team spirit of Saskia are still needed in the future.” Support also comes from Bavaria.

Bavaria’s Juso boss: dealing with Esken “bottomless”

Bavaria’s Juso boss Benedict Lang, for example, considers dealing with Esken to be “bottomless”. So far, Esken’s co-chairman Klingbeil does not show that he finds this problematic that he simply let it run, criticized Lang in the interview of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”.

“One enlarges his power and the woman at the top is sawn off,” summed up long. “The impression arises that the party should be surprised with the support of some SPD ministers from the back room, so that Klingbeil is the only option in the end.” Instead of considering how the cake greater again for the SPD, “Klingbeil pushes into the buffet in order to cut ever larger pieces for itself”.

Esken supports the chair of the SPD women’s working group

Similarly, the chairwoman of the Working Group on Social Democratic Women, Maria Noichl, commented on the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. Esken “kept the shop together, built internally bridges, is always available,” she said. It couldn’t be, “one person stumbles up, the other person stumbles down”.

Esken had recently spoken out for the fact that the SPD sent more women than men to the new federal cabinet. In an interview by the German Press Agency, she demanded that four of the seven SPD posts be filled by women.

Noichl said: “I think Saskia Esken is absolutely capable of practicing a ministerial office.” In the state association of the SPD federal chairman you can see it differently. Sascha Binder, General Secretary of the SPD in Baden-Württemberg, said in a newspaper interview with “Südkurier” and “Badischer Zeitung”: “Cabinet posts must be given to those who have great trust within the party, but above all also among people outside.” And further: “We have seven cabinet posts. I agree with Saskia Esken that four of them should go to women. But then it goes, who are the four best? And I don’t see Saskia underneath.”