SPD: Hubertus Heil wants to run for SPD chairmanship

Berlin. Former Labor Minister Hubertus Heil wants to become SPD party leader. The 54-year-old wrote in a three-page letter to the state associations and the party executive board, which is available to the German Press Agency, that he decided to run at the party conference in Bremen in mid-January. Heil is running without a female co-chair. The ARD and “Bild” first reported on it.

Heil had recently spoken out more frequently in the debate and considered running for office, but left a decision open. Like the current SPD leader and Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD), Heil comes from Lower Saxony. Miersch and Pistorius have already spoken out in favor of Klingbeil's re-election. Heil was Federal Minister of Labor and Social Affairs from 2018 to 2025. Under him, social benefits were significantly expanded and citizens' money, which was now converted into basic security, was introduced.

“Bild am Sonntag” reported that Heil complained in his letter about his party’s acute lack of profile. He also used his application to attack Klingbeil. "Being at the head of a people's party in these times requires a lot of commitment and full attention. That's why I want to devote all my energy to becoming a party chairman," Heil wrote. In doing so, he is taking up the argument of Klingbeil's opponents in the party, who are calling for a separation of ministerial office and party leadership. Heil also expressly supported the SPD remaining in the federal government.

Insiders told the Reuters news agency on Monday that the leadership of the SPD wanted to clarify the party's leadership issues next week. The Executive Board will meet for a special meeting on November 19th. It is expected that the Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Manuela Schwesig, will then declare herself ready for a position at the top of the party. It is clear that a woman should continue to be at the head of the SPD - alone or as a dual leader with a co-chair.

The SPD wants to re-elect its entire leadership at a special party conference in January. The trigger was the resignation of Klingbeil's co-party leader and Labor Minister Bärbel Bas. However, the poor performance in state elections has long been causing unrest in the SPD. In surveys at the federal level, the SPD is still below its last election result of 16.4 percent.