Germany: Surprise SPD resignation puts pressure on party

Only a few people were in the know, while for most members of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) it was a surprise: Kevin Kühnert, general secretary of the SPD since December 2021, announced his resignation and also that he would not stand for reelection in his Berlin constituency in the general election next year.

In a letter to party members, which was also sent to the media, 35-year-old Kühnert explained his decision by saying that he was not in good health. "The full commitment of the entire SPD is needed for an election victory," he wrote, adding that in the coming months, "enormous efforts" would be necessary "to make up for a deficit that is expressed in low poll ratings and low self-confidence."

The expectations are huge, Kühnert continued, before adding that he could not live up to them. "I need the energy that my office and an election campaign would require in order to recover. That's why I'm drawing the consequences." Kühnert did not say what illness he was suffering from or how serious it was.

Kühnert: Under enormous pressure for months

The SPD general secretary has been under political pressure for months. The party is polling nationally at just 16%. In the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia, the party performed extremely poorly and even had to worry about clearing the 5% thresheold to enter the state parliaments. Only in Brandenburg did the party make an unexpected comeback in the campaign to win.

Kühnert's resignation comes at a fraught time for Olaf Scholz's federal government as well. In September, the two leaders of the Green Party resigned. The Green Party, which is a member of the center-left government in Berlin alongside the SPD and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), had also performed poorly in recent elections. Kühnert was then repeatedly confronted with the question of whether he did not also want to take responsibility for the election results. To that, Kühnert replied that he would be prepared to step down if it would help the SPD.

Kühnert had already informed SPD leaders Lars Klingbeil and Saskia Esken of his intention to resign a few days ago. Both reacted with dismay as well as understanding. Both party leaders praised Kühnert's work. At a press conference in Berlin on Monday, Klingbeil said that he knew that Kühnert's decision had not been easy but that it had been the right move. He had made a decisive contribution to stability in the SPD, said Klingbeil.

Kühnert: opinionated and left-wing

Kevin Kühnert was previously chairperson of the SPD's youth organization, the Young Socialists (Jusos) from November 2017, supporting the left-leaning Saskia Esken in her candidacy for the SPD party leadership against the more moderate Olaf Scholz. The Jusos wanted to move the SPD more to the left after years of internal party disputes.

Kühnert himself campaigned heavily against the SPD teaming up with the center-right Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) to form the "grand coalition" that was in government under former CDU Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Matthias Miersch takes over

The SPD party committees met on Monday evening and agreed that 55-year-old lawmaker Matthias Miersch should succeed Kühnert. The current vice chairman of the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag also belongs to the left wing of the SPD. He will initially assume the office of general secretary on a temporary basis. He can only be elected at the next SPD party conference, which is currently scheduled for June 2025.

Miersch will face enormous challenges. He will have to be able to debate all political issues and represent the party's profile. At the same time, the secretary-general also has administrative tasks, managing the party headquarters and organizing the party conferences and the election campaigns.

Time is running out

There is not much time left before the federal elections in September 2025, and the SPD has long been in a polling slump for some time. The largest opposition group in the Bundestag, the CDU/CSU, currently has almost twice as much support as the Social Democrats in polls.

There is continual infighting within Scholz's governing coalition, and in view of the conflicts over the budget and pension policy, some observers consider a premature break-up of the government coalition conceivable. If that happens, the SPD will have little time to organize an election campaign and get out of its slump.

Klingbeil may also become more involved in the strategy for the upcoming election campaign. He was Kühnert's predecessor as secretary general and led the election campaign that brought Olaf Scholz into the chancellorship. "It is my firm conviction," Klingbeil said in Berlin, "that success can be organized."

This article was originally written in German.

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