Berlin - Giffey does not want to run for SPD state chair again
Franziska Giffey, chairwoman of the Berlin SPD, does not want to run for office again. She announced this in a letter to the members of her party's state association, which was obtained by Deutsche Presse-Agentur. "The past few months have shown that there is a desire for a reorganization in our party and that we need not only structural but also personnel changes and a new leadership model," it says.
"In my view, it is crucial for overcoming the enormous challenges we face that responsibility is spread across several shoulders, that we broaden the base of our party and that we get more people to take responsibility for these major challenges of the future." In order to make this possible, she has decided not to run again for the chairmanship of the Berlin SPD in the party elections in May.
The announcement is not entirely surprising: Giffey was heavily criticized within the Berlin SPD after losing the repeat election in February. Not only the Jusos, but also several district associations spoke out against a coalition with the CDU, which Giffey and her co-chairman Raed Saleh were campaigning for. In a member vote, there was only a narrow majority in favor of a black-red coalition.
At the state party conference last May, the delegates also decided that politicians who are senators, state secretaries or parliamentary group leaders should no longer be in the majority on the seven-member executive board. According to the resolution, the dual leadership should also "not consist entirely" of people who also play a key role in government. This has been the case until now. Either Giffey or Saleh would therefore have to relinquish the office.
"I will focus all my energy on the other tasks I perform for our party," she wrote. Giffey is Senator for Economic Affairs, a member of the House of Representatives, coordinator of the SPD-led Senate administrations and mayor. "My commitment continues to be to our SPD - especially for the upcoming election campaign for the partial repeat of the Bundestag elections and the European elections."
Will Raed Saleh run again?
The SPD parliamentary group announced that it had taken note of Giffey's decision with great respect. "In difficult times, she has led two election campaigns and has done or is doing very good work for Berlin as Governing Mayor and Mayor." It is still unclear whether parliamentary group and party leader Saleh will run again at the party conference.
Giffey resigned from her position as governing mayor in February following the SPD's losses in the repeated elections to the Berlin House of Representatives. In 2021, she resigned from her position as Federal Minister for Family Affairs in the context of plagiarism allegations. She was subsequently stripped of her doctorate in political science for misrepresenting the content of her dissertation. After the election in September 2021, Giffey moved into Berlin City Hall.
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- The announcement from Franziska Giffey, the chairwoman of the Berlin SPD, was shared with the party's state association by the German Press Agency, indicating her decision not to run for office again due to the need for reorganization and leadership changes within the party.
- Raed Saleh, co-chairman of the Berlin SPD, may consider running again for party leadership, as the SPD parliamentary group has taken note of Giffey's decision with respect, but it remains unclear if Saleh will participate in the upcoming party conference.
- Despite facing criticisms and resigning from her previous roles due to plagiarism allegations, Franziska Giffey continues her commitment to the SPD, focusing on Berlin's state politics, serving as Senator for Economic Affairs, a member of the House of Representatives, and coordinating various SPD-led Senate administrations.
Source: www.stern.de
