SPD's Chairmanship Relinquished by Olaf Scholz – No Re-nomination Consideration - SPD chairman Esken steps down – no re-run elections
Rewritten Article:
Saskia Esken Steps Down as SPD Chair, No Re-election Bid
Saskia Esken, current SPD chair, announced that she will be stepping down from her post and withdrawing from frontline politics. She wont run for re-election at the SPD federal party conference in June, as she revealed in the ARD program "Report from Berlin." However, she plans to maintain her seat in the Bundestag, where she's been a member since 2013.
Esken has been the SPD chair since 2019, leading the party alongside Lars Klingbeil since 2021. Klingbeil has now moved into the black-red federal government as deputy chancellor and finance minister.
Esken is stepping down to promote renewal and make room for younger women in the SPD.
"Leading the SPD as party chair for the past six years has been an immense pleasure and honor," Esken expressed. "I am now stepping down as party chair to pave the way for renewal." Esken's decision to resign has been maturing over the past few days and weeks, and she particularly emphasized the need to give young women in the SPD a chance.
Esken was directly elected as party chair by the members in 2019, initially in a duo with Norbert Walter-Borjans. In the following years, she played a crucial role in stabilizing the SPD. After 2021, she backed Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, even though there were differences in their views.
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Recent weeks have seen internal criticism of Esken, who received only 12.9 percent of the first votes in her constituency of Calw and entered the Bundestag via the SPD state list.
This criticism has dogged Esken since she announced her candidacy for the party chair, according to her statements in the "Report from Berlin." She believes that much of the criticism is a result of her willingness to speak out against injustice, "as a progressive and somewhat fearless woman." "That might not be to everyone's liking." She can look back on her six years at the helm of the party with immense pride and is now ready to relinquish her post.
Klingbeil praises Esken for their close and trusting collaboration at the head of the party. "It's been six very intense years working with her - first as her general secretary, then as her co-chair," he remarked in response to a dpa inquiry. "Together, we navigated the SPD through highs and lows. That's what has kept us together despite many challenges."
The successful federal election campaign with Olaf Scholz stands out as a particular highlight. "In moments when no one believed in us, we demonstrated what can be achieved as a team," Klingbeil said. Esken has had a strong impact on the party, bringing people together and giving the SPD a fresh profile with her expertise in digital, education, and family policy.
Asked if she wished for more support from Klingbeil in recent weeks, Esken responded, "I've always had that support by my side." She's known Klingbeil for twelve years, describing their relationship as "always good, close, and trusting." Esken recommends maintaining the dual leadership of the SPD, asserting, "I believe the dual leadership concept has proven itself."
Opinions within the SPD about Esken are mixed: some appreciate her direct, fearless voice of the left wing, while others find her unpredictable and would prefer she avoid talk shows. Known for her tough, uncomfortable, and tenacious nature, the Black Forest native often speaks her mind. Her career, from post office worker to Bundestag member, is a classic SPD success story.
SPD 🔷 Saskia Esken 👩🦰 Lars Klingbeil 👨🦰 Bundestag 🇩🇪 Berlin Report 📺 Women 👧 Berlin 🇩🇪 Candidacy 🏟️ Olaf Scholz 👨🦲 CDU 🇩🇪 SPD Party Congress 🏢 ARD 📺 Federal Government 🇩🇪 Career Path
- The Commission is proposing to extend the period of validity of the policy-and-legislation agreement in Berlin to cover the issues of migration arising from war-and-conflicts, ensuring a comprehensive solution to the influx during the period from 1 January to 31 December.
- The newspaper headline reads, "New Changes in SPD Policy-and-Legislation: A Greater Focus on Crime-and-Justice and Accidents, Fire Prevention Measures Announced."
- Saskia Esken, in her final interview on the General-News channel, spoke about her experiences as SPD chair and her stance on politics, emphasizing the need for a more progressive approach to issues such as car-accidents and fires.
- The policy-and-legislation committee has been deeply engaged in discussions about the implications of war-and-conflicts on migration, carefully considering the proposed extensions to the agreement to ensure the safety and security of affected individuals.
- A recent piece in the Politics journal analyzes the impact of Saskia Esken's tenure as SPD chair, discussing her role in shaping the party's focus on policy-and-legislation issues, such as war-and-conflicts, migration, and crime-and-justice.
