There is a lot of speculation these days about who could lead the SPD in the future. Boris Pistorius, Anke Rehlinger, Manuela Schwesig, Hubertus Heil - a lot of names are being thrown into the ring, but only a few have hats so far.
Defense Minister Pistorius and Saarland Prime Minister Rehlinger have already declined. The current party leader Lars Klingbeil is emphatically reserved. He recently said on ARD that he believes he can help the party in the difficult phase. But the Lower Saxon also emphasizes that he is not attached to his office.
Klingbeil first wants to consult with the board. It should also be about finding out how much support there would be for a renewed candidacy for the presidency. At the 2025 party conference, just under 65 percent of the delegates voted for him. For co-chair Bärbel Bas, however, 95 percent.
Hubertus Heil doesn't say no
Someone who received a lot of applause with his speech at that party conference, even though he wrote in his party's book of being too boring and stewing too much in its own juice, is Hubertus Heil. The former labor minister and ex-general secretary of the SPD is considered Klingbeil's long-term rival.
Heil does not rule out running for office. What is crucial, he said on Sunday in the report from Berlin, is "which direction we take together and who the team is." One person alone will not be able to do it. Because the tasks are big.
Schwesig alone at the top?
Manuela Schwesig is someone who is certainly capable of making it to the top of the party with a team, but alone without a partner. However, it is unclear whether she would even run for the presidency. Before the state elections, she declared that she wanted to remain Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for the next five years.
It is also unclear what she could gain at the top of the party if the SPD at the same time has to make compromises in the government coalition with the CDU/CSU.
It is obvious to Juso boss Philipp Türmer that there is a lot of support for Schwesig. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania it showed "that with social democratic content and a clear positioning on social issues you can achieve surprisingly good election results."
More SPD, please
Many comrades want a clear social democratic profile from the top leadership. And it's not just about content positions. It's also about time for the party. For what concerns the local people at the grassroots level.
From the point of view of Juso boss Türmer, there is a lot to be said for a separation of party leadership and ministerial positions. It is obvious that, in addition to government work, it is not possible to achieve what the members of the SPD want, he says in the ARD interview: "to make it clear again what the social democracy stands for."
Juso boss sees many empty spaces
But the SPD first has to clarify this for itself. There are a lot of gaps, says Türmer self-critically, when it comes to strategic questions. Like what it actually wants to fight for as a classic workers' party. And for whom. For skilled workers in industry? Or rather for precarious workers and socially disadvantaged people?
A new basic program is being worked on. However, it will not be ready by the party conference in Bremen in mid-January, when the SPD wants to reorganize itself.
"I want us to be an SPD that doesn't remain in the status quo, that doesn't cling to the past," Klingbeil said at the beginning of the year and urged his party to have the courage to reform.
It's about separation of offices, positions and the course
It remains to be seen how much courage the party will have to redefine its own role. One thing is clear: a lot will be called into question at the party conference in January. Starting with dual leadership and proportional representation right up to the question of how to deal with women in the top management. According to Juso boss Türmer, in recent years they have too often had to serve as a buffer against frustration.
It will be about separation of offices and positions. But above all it is about the future course of the traditional party - which stands and falls with the new leadership of the SPD.
