The state chairwoman of the Bavarian SPD, Natascha Kohnen, wants to give up her position.
And that in the year of the federal election.
Younger people should take responsibility at the top, said Kohnen.
Munich -
Bavaria's SPD leader Natascha Kohnen
wants to give up her position next year.
“I will no longer run for the chairmanship of the Bavarian SPD at the state party congress next year, because in my opinion it is time for more young people to take on responsibility at the top.
Because the future is theirs, ”said Kohnen on Saturday after a meeting of the regional executive committee of the German Press Agency in Munich.
But she wants to keep her state parliament mandate.
The 53-year-old has been a member of the state parliament since 2008.
When exactly the
Bavarian SPD
will be able to hold new elections in the coming year is completely open due to the Corona crisis.
According to reports, the party is aiming for a party conference in mid-March.
Whether this can then take place, however, depends on the infection process.
Should the infection situation remain tense, this could inadvertently extend Kohn's term of office.
Bayern SPD: Natascha Kohnen no longer wants to run for the state chairmanship in 2021
In any case, the regional association is facing troubled times, because it
does not only have to fear a strenuous show for Kohn's successor
at the start of the
Bundestag election year
.
There are also still many unanswered questions regarding the organizational structure: As in the federal government, dual leadership should also be possible in the future at the Bayern-SPD, party work should be fully digital at all levels, including its own “BayernSPD app” and digital local associations.
The top committees are to be significantly reduced and a scientific advisory board is to be established.
In the coming months, however, all the organizational questions will be behind the personnel question and will always be overshadowed by the party's generally difficult situation.
In surveys, the SPD in Bavaria has been bobbing around eight percent for months.
Although no one has publicly announced their ambitions for the post since Kohn's success in the 2017 membership decision, it is now only a matter of time before the first candidates and candidate teams come out of cover.
Natascha Kohnen (SPD): State chairmanship in Bavaria was associated with "highs and bitter lows"
Kohnen has been chairwoman of the Bavarian SPD since May 2017.
During its term in office, the SPD had to cope with many defeats in the Free State.
Among other things, the Social Democrats achieved a historically poor result in the 2018 state elections with Kohnen as the top candidate with 9.7 percent.
Since then she has not been undisputed in the party, but has successfully fended off all demands for resignation.
The SPD also suffered painful bankruptcies in the European and local elections in recent years.
"The last 12 years have been associated
with ups and also bitter lows
for me, first as general secretary and since 2017 as
state chairman of the Bavarian SPD
," said Kohnen.
Still, she doesn't want to miss a day.
Despite the heavy electoral defeats, also at the federal level, she was optimistic that the SPD could regain lost trust among the people.
Kohnen is the mother of two grown children and lives in Neubiberg, not far from her native Munich.
From 2009 to 2017, the biologist was General Secretary in the regional association.
Before starting her political career in Bavaria, Kohnen lived in Paris for some time.
Within the SPD, Kohnen is assigned to the left wing.
Her most important political issues in the state parliament include the housing shortage and the fight against rising rents.
(dpa)