Sudden retirement: One of the leaders of the German Social Democratic Party and Federal Minister Bass resigned

One of the two party chairmen of Germany's ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD) and current Federal Labor Minister Bärbel Bas announced his resignation on Monday (October 12). She said the reason for her resignation was the death of her stepdaughter, but she also cited personal attacks on herself, which came from within the German government.

Bass, 58, wrote in her resignation statement, "After the death of my stepdaughter, I realized that I needed time to process my grief. I hope to give myself enough time. In addition, I regret to find that at a time when I am going through personal difficulties, public attacks on me are still intensifying, including many from my partners in the ruling coalition. Given that I currently do not have enough energy to fully perform the work of the government and the party in the short term, I have decided to resign from these two positions."

Her replacement as federal labor minister is Alexander Schweitzer, who previously served as governor of the western German state of Rheinland-Pfalz and a member of the Social Democratic Party. As for who will succeed her as chairman of the Social Democratic Party, it is expected to be selected at the party congress early next year.

How would you describe Bass?

Bass has served as a federal member of parliament since 2009, and his political career reached its peak in 2021, when Social Democrat Olaf Scholz was elected German Prime Minister and Bass became the Speaker of the Bundestag. Within her center-left Social Democratic Party, Bass is seen as a member of the grassroots progressive wing.

After the Scholz government ended prematurely in 2024, the Social Democrats became the secondary governing partner in the Merz government. Bas and Lars Klingbeil simultaneously served as two chairmen of the Social Democratic Party and also served as cabinet ministers in Merz's government.

Chancellor Merz, who is currently facing enemies from both sides, dismissed Bass's criticism of his governing partners. He said that there are different opinions on a certain issue and there is debate, which is necessary. He said there had been numerous messages of sympathy for Bass over the past three weeks regarding his personal tragedy.

"Der Spiegel Online" commented on Bas's resignation: "It is rare for a senior politician to use his resignation statement to attack his governing coalition partners. This shows that the social democrat has suffered fierce criticism from all sides and the pain is unbearable for her."

“Her resignation raises the question: if the ruling partners in the black and red governments are so at odds with each other, then it is self-evident what the state of the coalition government itself is. "