Sven Wolf (SPD) speaks in the state parliament. © Federico Gambarini/dpa
Six weeks have passed since the announcement of the resignation of SPD parliamentary group leader Thomas Kutschaty. Only now has a first applicant for the succession come forward. Will more applications follow?
Dusseldorf - The domestic policy expert Sven Wolf wants to become SPD parliamentary group leader in the North Rhine-Westphalian state parliament. The 47-year-old lawyer from Remscheid announced his candidacy on Tuesday in a letter to the parliamentary group available to the German Press Agency. Six weeks after the announcement of the withdrawal of parliamentary group leader Thomas Kutschaty, Wolf was the first candidate for succession to throw his hat into the ring.
In his letter, Wolf called on the party not to "get tangled" in a constant self-preoccupation and to attack the black-green state government. "We must not remain in the eyes of the past," he warned. "The crises of recent years have unsettled us all." The real challenges, however, lie ahead of the party. First, the "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger" had reported.
Initially, nothing was known about further applications for the leadership of the largest opposition group in the state parliament with 56 deputies. "I would be happy if I were not alone with my candidacy," Wolf wrote. "In a transparent process of several candidacies, there are no losers.
The SPD parliamentary group wants to elect a new leadership on May 23. The previous parliamentary group leader Kuchaty had announced his withdrawal from the leadership of the parliamentary group in March and has also resigned as SPD state party leader. On August 26, the NRW SPD will also elect a new leadership. Wolf assured that the group would be loyal to the new team of the state board.
The North Rhine-Westphalian SPD had slumped to a historic low of 2022.26 percent in the state election in mid-May 7. Kuchaty had been the head of the parliamentary group since 2018. In 2021, after a power struggle, he also became head of the largest SPD state association. His resignation from the top offices less than a year after losing the state election was also seen as a consequence of the ongoing criticism within the party.
Wolf has been a member of the state parliament since 2010. The lawyer has earned a reputation in the state parliament as an enlightener by chairing several committees of inquiry. He is currently chairman of the committee of inquiry into the flood disaster in NRW in the summer of 2021.
The state of the state and community is no longer what it used to be, Wolf wrote. "We all feel how the mood in our country is deteriorating." People expect a functioning state "that protects and strengthens the community by intervening where necessary".
The black-green government, on the other hand, "talks a lot of things up or talks its way out of it," Wolf wrote. "We won't let her get away with that anymore. We'll provide them." The 18 million people in North Rhine-Westphalia expected more. "They want to be heard, otherwise they will turn away." The SPD deputies would have to "more often from the plenum to the seats," Wolf demanded.
"I want to show people through our work that we have solutions to the problems of our time," Wolf said in response to a dpa request. The start of the black-green state government in North Rhine-Westphalia was "lacking in ideas and drive". NRW can do more. He wants to make his contribution to this. Dpa