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Sudden search: who will be Scholz's boss at the SPD? - Seven possible candidates

2021-10-29T16:20:27.300Z


Norbert Walter-Borjans leaves - suddenly the SPD is looking for a new boss. The field of possible successors is confusing: seven options from Klingbeil to Kühnert.


Norbert Walter-Borjans leaves - suddenly the SPD is looking for a new boss.

The field of possible successors is confusing: seven options from Klingbeil to Kühnert.

Berlin - Autumn will bring Germany some political changes. The Merkel era ends after 16 years - as does that of the CDU chancellor party, at least for the time being. But it is also becoming increasingly clear that even the traffic light parties will no longer be exactly the same after the targeted coalition formation. The Green Top has already announced a castling. The SPD followed on Friday (October 29).

Because Norbert Walter-Borjans does not want to run for party leader again after two years in office.

The former finance minister of North Rhine-Westphalia - originally known primarily because of a tax data purchase - apparently sees his mission as fulfilled after the federal election and traffic light.

But it gets even more colorful for the Social Democrats: Because Chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz does not want to take over the post according to his own statement.

And the incumbent co-chair Saskia Esken has not yet commented on her future.

SPD boss wanted: Norbert Walter-Borjans leaves, Scholz does not want - a good handful of candidates remains

So a big chair back could begin. An exciting matter. Not so much because the post as SPD leader has already been praised as the “most beautiful office next to the Pope”. More likely because the chairmanship in the Willy Brandt House in the 10s was mostly like an ejection seat. And above all because the party is actually in a state of upheaval with the drastically increased Juso share in the Bundestag parliamentary group. Who could follow Walter-Borjans - it seems pretty open.

At least one thing is clear: If the SPD does not want to start its new phase as the Chancellor's party with an interim solution, the chairmanship will be completely different than it was last in 2019. At that time, the Social Democrats were in countless regional conferences through Germany and had a successor duo for Andrea Nahles cast.

There is simply not that much time left this time: The party congress will take place from December 10th to 12th and the SPD leaders will probably negotiate the traffic light coalition under high pressure by then.

The speed process could increase the chances for the party celebrities - unlike Esken and Walter-Borjans in 2019. An overview of possible candidates for the place at the top of the SPD:

Lars Klingbeil

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SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil on the way to an exploratory meeting.

© Michael Kappeler

The post of Secretary General is a prominent position anyway - but Lars Klingbeil has continued to play a prominent role around the Bundestag election. The election campaign concept he was responsible for for the 15 percent SPD worked out almost miraculously (albeit partly due to the opposition's own goals), individual excitements such as an election campaign clip at the expense of Laschet's confidante Nathanael Liminski did not remain negative .

A promotion does not seem to be ruled out: Klingbeil's name is "circulating" in Berlin, reported ZDF correspondent Bernd Benthin on Friday (October 29) shortly after Walter-Borjans' announcement of his resignation.

Klingbeil could benefit from party arithmetic if Esken remains in office: the general secretary is an SPD conservative.

After Scholz's electoral success, this wing could now also claim its rights from the party leadership.

In addition: Klingbeil is a fresh face at the age of 43.

The 69-year-old Walter-Borjans explicitly wants to make room for younger people.

Kevin Kühnert

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One goes, the other comes?

Party leader Norbert Walter-Borjans (center) puts their heads together with Kevin Kühnert and Saskia Esken.

© Kay Nietfeld / dpa

Kevin Kühnert would definitely also stand for rejuvenation. The name of the party vice-president and former Juso boss haunted the short message service Twitter quickly and with high frequency on Friday - with very different connotations: Rather conservative users recognized something between a horror scenario and an excellent attack surface in a clearly left-wing SPD boss Kühnert. Supporters of the social democrats, who were very present in the media, saw an opportunity for a positive step.

Kühnert himself did not comment at first.

In a tweet he thanked Walter-Borjans, who took over the party at a difficult moment and is now stepping down as the party leader of the election winner.

The fact is that Kühnert, who is just 32 years old, is one of the most famous SPD politicians.

Whether he actually has ambitions for the successor can at least be doubted: In mid-October he referred a ministerial post in a possible traffic light coalition to the realm of fable in the ZDF talk “Markus Lanz”.

Rolf Mützenich

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Olaf Scholz and Rolf Mützenich (right).

© Kay Nietfeld / dpa

Another formative SPD figure in recent months is Rolf Mützenich. As an interim successor, he took over the chairmanship of the Bundestag parliamentary group from Andrea Nahles in 2019 - and not only remained in office, but had also earned some respect for his largely conflict-free leadership of the GroKo-tired SPD parliamentarians. Mützenich was also involved in the ultimately successful enthronement of Scholz as candidate for chancellor.

After the federal election, the SPD wanted to give Mützenich higher orders: Walter-Borjans himself brought the North Rhine-Westphalian colleague into discussion as President of the Bundestag - and Mützenich also seemed ready for the career jump.

“I've always put myself at the service of the cause,” he said.

Ultimately, however, the SPD opted for the female option Bärbel Bas for reasons of parity.

At the top of the party, however, gender equality could be regulated through the second top post.

Michael Roth

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Michael Roth (SPD).

© Martin Schutt / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa / archive image

Behind the trio of Klingbeil, Kühnert and Mützenich, the search for prominent names becomes more difficult. Nevertheless, the SPD can always be trusted to conjure up surprising solutions out of its hat - see Bärbel Bas. The Hessian Michael Roth had already applied for the party chairmanship in 2019. Together with duo partner Christina Kampmann, he came in 3rd place in the vote and narrowly missed the runoff election. So there is a certain popularity in the party.

At the same time, Roth is an experienced politician despite his only 51 years of age: He is one of the longest serving members of parliament in the SPD parliamentary group, is already on the SPD executive committee, was the Hessian SPD top candidate in the federal elections, and has been Minister of State for Europe for almost eight years Office - and therefore well networked internationally.

For a Chancellor's party, this is not a completely insignificant point.

Like Kühnert and Mützenich, Roth is assigned to the party left.

No advantage at first.

But the complicated party arithmetic could cause unexpected volts here too.

The left wing of the SPD may also be able to compensate for compromises in the traffic light coalition agreement with a party leader according to his taste.

Boris Pistorius

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Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD).

© Julian Stratenschulte / dpa / archive image

The words “federal political ambitions” and “Boris Pistorius” have recently been mentioned more often in the same breath.

Lower Saxony's interior minister is unusually well-known for a state politician - also because he is seldom at a loss for clear announcements.

The fact is that the 61-year-old is negotiating a coalition for the SPD for the second time and is also repeatedly mentioned in the raffle for ministerial offices.

It is also a fact: In 2019, Pistorius wanted to take over the chairmanship of the SPD together with Petra Köpping.

It can be assumed that Pistorius would still not be averse to the office.

With the desire for clear words and an image as an interior expert, he could well fit into the requirement profile for the second chief position - next to a more left-wing SPD woman at least.

Petra Köpping

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Petra Köpping (SPD), Minister of Social Affairs of Saxony.

© Sebastian Kahnert / dpa-Zentralbild / dpa

Pistorius' duo partner from 2019 is also an exciting personality.

In contrast to all of the above, she is not only a woman - but also an East German.

The lack of prominent politicians from the east of the country had recently caught the eye of the CDU as a possible stigma that might be decisive for voting.

And the SPD presumably also noticed this debate.

With Katja Pähle from Saxony-Anhalt there is a second person with these characteristics on the SPD executive committee.

Köpping has not only shown ambitions for the highest party offices, but has also shown herself to be a bearer of hope in the dark hours of the Social Democrats.

She made a name for herself as the voice of those who were forgotten by politics in the new federal states - “the woman for East Germany” was what the

Leipziger Volkszeitung

called her

.

Köpping, Saxony's Minister of Social Affairs for many years, likes to try herself as a mediator and “listener”.

That would fit in well with Scholz's “respect” mantra.

Serpil Midyatli

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Serpil Midyatli.

© Frank Molter / dpa / archive image

At first glance, Serpil Midyatli would be a rather unlikely solution - especially since, unlike the aforementioned, the northern lights have never raised ambitions to the SPD executive chair. Nevertheless, the personality could have some charm for the Social Democrats: as a demonstration of a new diversity. On the one hand, Midyatli is an experienced politician: SPD vice, since 2009 in the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament, SPD state leader and parliamentary group leader in the far north. On the other hand, she is a woman, only 46 years old and a Muslim. In this way, she could also address some voters with a migration background.

Midyatli had supported Esken and Walter-Borjan in the previous election and could therefore stand for a certain continuity in terms of content. At the same time, the 46-year-old may have room for a small change of plan in terms of career: For a long time, she had been traded as a possible SPD top candidate for the Schleswig-Holstein election in 2022. In the end, her comrade Thomas Losse-Müller made the race. Midyatli's reaction: She sees it as her job as state chairwoman to do “not a one-woman show” in Schleswig-Holstein, but rather teamwork.

Who will ultimately become the head of the SPD?

Presumably the SPD will not keep people in Germany waiting too long for the answer.

On the way back to the Chancellery, the Social Democrats will not want to burden themselves with an agonizing personnel debate in the style of the CDU.

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fn

)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-10-29

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