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Germany: Surprise SPD resignation puts pressure on party

36 1
08.10.2024

Only a few people were in the know, while for most members of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) it was a surprise: Kevin Kühnert, general secretary of the SPD since December 2021, announced his resignation and also that he would not stand for reelection in his Berlin constituency in the general election next year.

In a letter to party members, which was also sent to the media, 35-year-old Kühnert explained his decision by saying that he was not in good health. "The full commitment of the entire SPD is needed for an election victory," he wrote, adding that in the coming months, "enormous efforts" would be necessary "to make up for a deficit that is expressed in low poll ratings and low self-confidence."

The expectations are huge, Kühnert continued, before adding that he could not live up to them. "I need the energy that my office and an election campaign would require in order to recover. That's why I'm drawing the consequences." Kühnert did not say what illness he was suffering from or how serious it was.

The SPD general secretary has been under political pressure for months. The party is polling nationally at just 16%. In the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia, the party performed........

© Deutsche Welle


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