Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil will remain the dual leadership of the SPD for another two years. Both were re-elected as chairmen at the beginning of the three-day federal party conference in Berlin. Esken received 82.6 percent of the votes, Klingbeil 85.6 percent. The duo’s re-election by the approximately 600 delegates was considered certain. However, it was eagerly awaited to see whether the SPD’s poor survey results and frustration with the traffic light government would be reflected in the election results. In 2021, Esken received 76.7 percent of the delegate votes and Klingbeil 86.3 percent.
Esken has been SPD co-leader since 2019. She initially led the party together with Norbert Walter-Borjans. After his withdrawal after the 2021 federal election, Klingbeil became co-chairman.
Before their election, Esken and Klingbeil sharply attacked the CDU and its party leader Friedrich Merz. “The CDU and CSU are chanting against the traffic lights with the AfD. With this Merz CDU we truly have the most populist opposition of all time,” said Esken. Merz and his party not only worked against the government, but also “against cohesion and against the country.” She accused Merz of political vandalism. Klingbeil said: “Yesterday’s Friedrich will never be the future of our country.”
Esken and Klingbeil also repeated their criticism of the debt brake and called for new debt rules. “The debt brake has become a risk to prosperity, which is why we have to change it,” said Klingbeil. Other countries invested hundreds of billions in public infrastructure and the jobs of the future. “While others are turning on the turbo, we here in Germany are pulling the handbrake,” he said and advocated suspending the debt brake again next year.
The current budget crisis and its consequences are likely to lead to further discussions at the party conference, as well as the federal government’s migration policy. A speech by Chancellor Olaf Scholz is scheduled for Saturday morning.