Candidate for the Bundestag: Müller evades Kühnert

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Berlin's Governing Mayor Michael Müller

Paul Zinken / DPA

Berlin's governing mayor and SPD state chief Michael Müller comes from the Tempelhof-Schöneberg district, where he has repeatedly run for elections to the House of Representatives. He would also have liked to contest his candidacy for the Bundestag, which had been speculated about for a long time - but Kevin Kühnert got in his way.

The outgoing Juso boss had announced his candidacy in that constituency a week ago in an interview with the Berlin "Tagesspiegel". Müller is now evading Kühnert and wants to compete in the neighboring constituency of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf next year. The news agencies dpa and AFP report, citing a letter to the local SPD district association.

He wanted to bring political issues from the capital such as affordable housing, fair wages or help for refugees "more to the federal level", writes Müller in it. "For this I ask for your trust and support."

Müller's successor in the Berlin SPD has already been clarified

With this, Müller, who has been head of government in the capital since 2014 and has headed a red-red-green Senate since 2016, ends months of speculation about his political future. The rumor had been around for a long time that after decades in state politics, he would be drawn to the Bundestag. The Bundestag and the House of Representatives will be re-elected in autumn 2021 - probably on the same day.

It has been clear for some time that Müller is relinquishing the leadership of the Berlin SPD. On October 31, Federal Family Minister Franziska Giffey and the Berlin SPD parliamentary group leader Raed Saleh want to be elected as the new dual leadership. A close circle of party leaders agreed on this in January.

It is considered likely that Giffey will then be chosen as the SPD's top candidate for the House of Representatives election at the end of the year and thus fight for the office of governing mayor. Until the end of the legislature, however, Müller is likely to stay in the Rotes Rathaus.

The constellation with Kühnert, who continues to gain influence in the SPD, was described by Müller as a "curious situation" last week.

The SPD direct candidates in the Berlin electoral districts will be determined in the coming weeks and months. There is a lot of wrangling - although in view of the continuing weakness of the SPD, it is open in surveys whether its candidates will be directly elected in the Bundestag constituencies. In 2017, two CDU politicians won direct mandates in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Tempelhof-Schöneberg.

Against this background, the SPD state list is of particular importance, which offers at least the holders of places 1 to 3 or 4 some security to move into the Bundestag. It will also be determined on December 19th. Müller could come in first - but Kühnert also dares to run the top candidate.

mes / dpa / AFP