Parties: Esken gives up SPD chair – who follows?

The SPD is facing a reorganization. After the withdrawal of the chairman Saskia Esken, the party must clarify who should lead it in the future. The new top is to be elected at the federal party conference at the end of June. The co-chair Lars Klingbeil is expected to start again. Anyone who should stand by him is open. So far, the SPD has been led by a double tip. The new Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Bärbel Bas is considered a conceivable candidate.

Esken announced on Sunday evening in the ARD that she would no longer compete at the party conference at the end of June. She made the decision to make room for renewal, said the 63-year-old in the “Report from Berlin”. Your Bundestag mandate wants to keep her.

Esken has been the SPD leader since 2019, and since 2021 she has been running the party together with Klingbeil, who has now switched to the black and red federal government as a vice-chancellor and finance minister.

Stegner: Dealing with Esken “No fame”

Numerous SPD politicians paid respect for their decision. At the same time, however, there is also criticism of the internal approach to her. “The attempt to make it a scapegoat for our miserable election result was not a fame and did not correspond to the basic values ​​of the SPD in the content or in the style of the debate,” said SPD member of the Bundestag Ralf Stegner to the “Handelsblatt”.

Juso boss Philipp Türmer said that with her decision, Esken evidence “a size and a sense of responsibility I would have liked to have some of her critics in the past few weeks”. With many of her demands, such as a 500 billion investment program, she has proven a foresight that many were missing in German politics, says Türmer in the “Handelsblatt”.

Klingbeil: “Have led the SPD through ups and downs”

Klingbeil thanked Esken for her services and “the close and always trusting cooperation at the head of our party”. There were six very intensive years with her – only as her general secretary, then as her co -chair.

“We guided the SPD through heights and depths. That welded us together against many resistance,” said Klingbeil. The successful Bundestag election campaign with Olaf Scholz was a very special highlight. “In moments when nobody believed in us, we showed what you can master in the team.”

Esken for maintaining the double tip

The SPD had crashed to 16.4 percent in the Bundestag election in February and thus drove a historically bad result. Nevertheless, Klingbeil still grabbed the parliamentary group on election evening and further expanded his base of power. In the meantime, the 47-year-old is Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister in Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU).

In contrast, there have been clear criticism of ESKEN in the past few weeks and months. In her constituency of Calw in Baden-Württemberg, she won only 12.9 percent of the first votes as a direct candidate. Nevertheless, she moved into the Bundestag via the SPD country list. In the formation of cabinet she went away empty -handed.

When asked whether she would have liked more support from Klingbeil in the past few weeks, Esken said in the ARD “Report from Berlin”: “I have always had this support at my side.” She has known Klingbeil for twelve years. “It was always a good, close and trusting work.” Esken spoke out to maintain the double leadership in the SPD. “I think the double leadership as a concept has proven itself.”