SPD state executive nominates Franziska Giffey as the top candidate in Berlin

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Federal Family Minister Franziska Giffey wants to become the governing mayor of Berlin

Photo: Xander Heinl / photothek.net / imago images / photothek

First dual leadership, then leading candidate: the Berlin state executive committee of the SPD has nominated Federal Family Minister Franziska Giffey as the leading candidate for the 2021 parliamentary elections.

The party's national association announced this on Monday evening on Twitter.

On Saturday Giffey was elected together with SPD parliamentary group leader Raed Saleh as the new dual leadership of the state association.

The 42-year-old had declared at the time that she was ready to lead the SPD in the election.

Giffey wants to become the governing mayor.

At the party conference on the weekend, the entire state executive was newly elected.

Giffey got around 89 percent of the valid votes in the election, Saleh around 69 percent.

The Family Minister and former Neukölln District Mayor Michael Müller has already replaced her as state chairwoman.

At the beginning of the year he had declared that he was no longer available for the post.

He wants to run for the Bundestag in autumn 2021.

The SPD leadership in Berlin had already agreed on the change at the top of the party at the beginning of the year.

The background to this is the poor poll results of the SPD, in which it has long since ceased to be the strongest party in the capital.

Giffey promises to "tackle"

Giffey is considered to be the hope of the Berlin SPD.

In her new role, she promised to "tackle" the party delegates at the weekend.

However, the politician is currently burdened with the affair of possible plagiarism in her doctoral thesis.

The Free University of Berlin (FU) gave her a reprimand in autumn 2019 for deficiencies in her work, but did not withdraw her doctorate.

After widespread criticism of this approach, the FU recently announced a new examination, which should be completed by the end of the lecture period of the winter semester - i.e. by the end of February.

Giffey's complaint was withdrawn.

Under pressure, Giffey recently announced that she was giving up her doctorate.

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mfh / dpa