(Adnkronos) – The German Spd will elect its new leadership in an extraordinary congress to be held on January 16 and 17 in Bremen. According to local media reports, in addition to the two co-leaders, the entire party executive will be renewed. The congress became necessary after the resignation of co-leader Baerbel Bas, who recently left the party leadership and the position of Minister of Labor. The other Spd co-leader, Lars Klingbeil, has also announced that he will make his mandate available, but it is not yet clear if he intends to run.
No candidacies for the Spd leadership have been officially announced yet. Possible names include the President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Manuela Schwesig, and the Governor of Saarland, Anke Rehlinger. A candidacy by former federal Labor Minister, Hubertus Heil, is also hypothesized. Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, on the other hand, has ruled out taking over the party’s presidency.
In view of the congress, a debate has also opened on the advisability of separating party and government positions. Bas, before her resignation, and Klingbeil, still in office, were both co-leaders of the Spd and federal government ministers.
