Co-boss Esken confirmed in office: Klingbeil elected as the new SPD chairman

Lars Klingbeil inherits the retired SPD chairman Norbert Walter-Borjans. At the federal party conference in Berlin, the previous Secretary General Klingbeil received a lot of encouragement, as did co-boss Saskia Esken, who was allowed to continue to exercise her office. The party proudly looks back at its own comeback.

The Social Democratic Party of Germany has a new chairman. The delegates at the hybrid federal party conference elected the previous Secretary General Lars Klingbeil with 86.3 percent of the votes as the new co-boss, together with the previous chairman Saskia Esken, who received 76.7 percent. The two stood for election as a duo. The previous co-chairman Norbert Walter-Borjans did not run again. The results of the hybrid party congress, in which most of the 600 delegates took part online, have to be confirmed again by postal vote. In the afternoon, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz wants to address the party with a speech.

In his introductory speech, the 43 -year-old from Munster had advocated using the SPD’s election victory for a start into a “social democratic decade”. For the SPD, it must be about taking people’s worries into account in the face of upcoming changes. While the future is promising for employees of a pharmaceutical start-up in Mainz, said Klingbeil, referring to Biontech, the employees of a supplier for diesel engines in the Lüneburg Heath have to fear for their work. “We have to build a bridge between the start-up in Mainz and the employees in the Lüneburg Heath,” said Klingbeil.

The SPD must take responsibility for economic policy. The Union has “no social values”, but is focused solely on the profit of the company. “A party that thinks this way also elects Friedrich Merz as chairman.” Klingbeil said of himself that he did not want to correct the public image of him as a friendly, personable person. “The path that lies ahead of us is bridging, it does not lead through ditches,” said Klingbeil. “Admittedly, this is often not a loud process, but it is a powerful one.” The success of the SPD came about “through team thinking”. “I’m starting today so that this path can continue”, said Klingbeil, whose speech was greeted with long applause.

Kutschaty wants Kühnert’s post

Esken also gave a speech in favor of being re-elected as co-chair for another two years. “We are united as we have not for many years,” said the 60-year-old. The SPD had “perhaps the greatest comeback in German party history”. Esken took a look at the upcoming state elections in the coming year as well as the next European elections, which the party wants to win. Regarding the party’s strategic direction, she said that the SPD had to be “a think tank for questions about the future”.

Not only the chairpersons, but also their deputies are newly elected. Because the Klingbeil confidante Kevin Kühnert is running for the post of general secretary, a deputy seat becomes available. The head of the NRW-SPD and designated top candidate for the state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia, Thomas Kutschaty, is running for this. With the construction minister Klara Geywitz and labor minister Hubertus Heil, two members of the new federal cabinet retain their vice-chairmanship. Serpil Midyatli and Anke Rehlinger, the top candidate for the state elections in Saarland, are also running again for one of the five vice positions. Like Klingbeil and the parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich, Esken thanked their previous co-chair, Norbert Walter-Borjans, for their work together, since Esken and Walter-Borjans, somewhat surprisingly, became party chairmen two years ago. Walter-Borjan’s farewell hurts. “I’ll miss you,” said Mützenich.

“This ridiculed dream is reality”

Klingbeil’s predecessor as party chairman, Walter-Borjans, started with his speech at the federal party conference. In his 25-minute farewell speech, the former finance minister of North Rhine-Westphalia took stock of his two-year term of office. The SPD leadership was striving for a federal election result of 20 plus X in order to make Scholz chancellor. “This ridiculed dream is a reality,” said Walter-Borjans. Now the party wants even more: “We want to go back to the 30 zone.”

Walter-Borjans listed the following reasons for the success of the SPD’s comeback: the unity of the party leadership to the outside world, the involvement of the party base through the party leadership and the programmatic work. “Don’t let this increase in your voice be taken away from you,” the Cologne native appealed to his party. The SPD must act as a source of inspiration in the federal government and is not the mouthpiece of the coalition, only in this way can it make party members proud and motivate them. “Saskia and Lars stand for continuity and change and Kevin for fuel – naturally climate-neutral – with a much more balanced temperament than some might assume.”

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