Bärbel Bas announced on Monday that she is stepping down as leader of the SPD and as minister of labour and social affairs.
The reason is that her stepdaughter recently died and Bas needs time to grieve. She has also faced internal criticism within the coalition government from the Christian Democratic CDU over her work as minister, despite colleagues knowing about her personal circumstances, reports Tagesschau .
The SPD has had co-leaders since 2019. The party’s other leader, Lars Klingbeil, called the attacks “indecent”.
The internal dispute also points to new problems for Friedrich Merz, German media report. After major defeats in three state elections this autumn, Merz is under pressure, and the infighting between the SPD and CDU is believed to be fuelling distrust of him.