Monday, November 8, 2021
The new SPD boss on her side
Esken Klingbeal can be “well imagined” in parallel
Norbert Walter-Borgans leaves, Saskia Esken stays. But with whom will the party leader lead the SPD from December? Shortly before the board officially proposes a succession today, Esken confirms that in principle everything will boil down to the previous general secretary.
In the SPD, there are indications for a consistent clarification of future party leadership. Norbert Walter-Borgensen is likely to be replaced by former Secretary-General Lars Klingbeal as he does not want to run again at the federal party convention in December. “He is the architect of SPD’s renewal as general secretary and I personally respect him very much,” said Saskia Esken, SPD president at ARD. “In this sense, it’s a galaxy I can imagine.” The party executive meets in the morning to present a plan for Walter-Porgen’s successor.
Esken announced last week that he wanted to run for president again, two years after Walter-Porgen’s side. In doing so, he dismissed a potential ministerial post in the upcoming traffic light government under Olaf Scholes, who is currently in talks with the FDP and the Greens. “As a minister, as a minister in a future coalition like the one we are building now, it is definitely exciting to be involved and move things forward,” Esken said. “But over the last two years I have also shown performance as party leader and I look forward to continuing this work.”
Esken is optimistic about the coalition talks
Klingbeal has not yet officially confirmed his interest in the party leadership, especially since he, like Eskane, is considered a potential federal minister in the Transport Lighting cabinet. Esken implicitly confirmed that it would come to the 43-year-old Lower Saxony. “I have been working closely with Lars Klingbeel for many years. We have known each other for a long time, not just these two years in the party leadership,” Esken said.
He did not anticipate a membership survey of future party leadership. “It will be a question we discuss with the members, but the membership decision will only make sense if many people actually apply,” the 60-year-old party quit said. “If there is no will in that sense, then that also makes no sense.” However, members must vote on the coalition agreement on traffic lighting government.
According to Esken, Esken is not worried that there are currently problems in the coalition talks, as the Green leadership made public last weekend. “Not surprisingly,” Esken said, “there are points where one person does not immediately agree with three very different parties.” But everyone involved “went out to go together”. Esken said: “I’m very confident that we can do that too.” The SPD party leadership will be re-elected at a party conference in Berlin from December 10 to 12.
