Bundestag: Miersch is the new SPD parliamentary group leader

The newly elected chairman of the SPD parliamentary group, Matthias Miersch, wants to show a “social democratic handwriting” very clearly in the coalition with the Union. At the same time, the 56-year-old, who was previously SPD general secretary, said the parliamentary group would be a fair partner. “Yesterday’s day has shown that twelve votes majority are not much, that we deal with each other very carefully,” he said.

However, the SPD faction will make sure that content from the election campaign and the coalition agreement will also be realized. He expressly called a reform of the debt brake, for which a two -thirds majority is necessary to be sought with the voices of the Greens and Left.

Miersch was elected as the new chairman with more than 80 percent, as the parliamentary group announced. The SPD link is considered a close confidant of party leader and vice-chancellor Lars Klingbeil. This had agreed with the three currents of the SPD to propose Miersch for the top post. In the election, the Lower Saxony received 99 out of 119 votes, 18 MPs voted no, 2 abstained.

With 83.2 percent, Miersch incorporated a somewhat worse result than his predecessor Klingbeil, who, according to the SPD debacle in the Bundestag election in February, came to the parliamentary group and received 85.6 percent. To classify: Klingbeil’s predecessor Rolf Mützenich came up between 94.7 and 97.7 percent during his term from 2019 to 2025.

Miersch has to negotiate with Spahn

In the interaction of the new black and red coalition, the group leaders are likely to take key positions. Not only will Miersch try to secure the Vice Chancellor in the next few years the backing of the SPD parliamentary group. He wanted to fill the social democratic handwriting of the coalition agreement with life and translate it into good, fair legislation, said the Lower Saxony.

Miersch will also have to negotiate many of the topics with Union faction leader Jens Spahn, who were deliberately opened in the coalition agreement. In German parliamentary history there are almost legendary teams such as Volker Kauder (CDU) and Peter Struck (SPD), who undercut the coalition shop under Chancellor Merkel and even became friends. However, Spahn has been critically viewed in the SPD parliamentary group, at the latest since its controversial advance to deal with the AfD on organizational issues in the Bundestag as with other opposition parties.

He gives up his party office

Miersch wants to give up his office as Secretary General of the Party – not immediately, but at the latest to the party congress at the end of June. Miersch assured the employees at the party headquarters, the Willy-Brandt-Haus, in a letter that he would continue to perform the most important tasks “until my successor is regulated”.

As Secretary General, the 56-year-old is also responsible for how the SPD processes its disastrous defeat in the federal election. The party leadership is to be elected at a party congress at the end of June. Klingbeil is expected to run again as chairman. The future of co-party leader Saskia Esken, on the other hand, is open.

For years leader of the left SPD wing

Miersch is one of the most famous SPD links. For years he was one of the spokesman for the parliamentary left, i.e. the left wing of the SPD parliamentary group – until he became general secretary in October 2024 after Kevin Kühnert’s surprising resignation.

Miersch is a lawyer, but has so far worked politically primarily in the areas of environment and climate protection. Among other things, he was responsible for these topics as deputy chairman of the SPD parliamentary group from 2017 to 2024. In the traffic light government, he negotiated the controversial heating law with the Greens and the FDP and collected ideas from his party for a better industrial policy – to save jobs and for favorable industrial flow.

However, Miersch has made no secret of the fact that he would like to be the leader of the parliamentary group in recent years, but he pulled the shorter one several times. In the parliamentary group, it is estimated across wings.

Seeheimer as a parliamentary group manager

Dirk Wiese became the first parliamentary managing director of the faction, a kind of parliamentary group manager. According to the SPD parliamentary group, the domestic politician and spokesman for the conservative Seeheimer district received 82.5 percent of the vote.

There are also six deputy parliamentary group leader: Siemtje Möller for foreign and defense policy, Armand Zorn for economy and energy, Wiebke Esdar for household and finance, Sonja Eichwede for domestic politics and law, Dagmar Schmidt for work, social and health as well as Esra Limbacher for living, building and environment.