Losse-Müller gives state policy - goes into "engine room"

Parties - Losse-Müller gives state policy - goes into "engine room"

Thomas Losse-Müller is giving up the chairmanship of the SPD parliamentary group in the Schleswig-Holstein state parliament after one and a half years. His decision probably came as a surprise to the parliamentary group, at least in terms of timing. The 50-year-old had been working on his pet project of moving the state towards climate neutrality until the very end. However, his motion to set up a billion-euro debt-financed fund for this purpose failed in the state parliament.

Losse-Müller will relinquish the chairmanship of the parliamentary group next Tuesday. His successor is to be elected on the same day, as announced by SPD state chairwoman Serpil Midyatli. Losse-Müller replaced Midyatli at the head of the parliamentary group after the state elections in May 2022, when the SPD achieved a disastrous result. There was no word on Wednesday as to whether the former parliamentary group leader Midyatli now wants to take over the leadership again.

From the point of view of former Schleswig-Holstein SPD parliamentary group and party leader Ralf Stegner, however, there is no time pressure in the search for the right successor. "The crucial question is not how quickly a decision is made now, but how well," the SPD politician told the German Press Agency.

On the one hand, the intellectual and conceptual strength that Losse-Müller had brought to the table, also as an alternative to the Prime Minister, had to be built on. At the same time, it must be possible to find an emotional social democratic orientation for the new beginning, "which allows us to get out of this deep valley we are in".

Stegner praised Losse-Müller for his work. With a very small parliamentary group, he had a very difficult time against a government with a two-thirds majority. "We knew beforehand that he wasn't the opposition fighter." But that alone does not make opposition. In Stegner's view, the sharpness of the debate was not Losse-Müller's main area. "But he wasn't alone either."

Losse-Müller also announced that he would be leaving the state parliament next April. Losse-Müller wrote that it meant a lot to him that he had been elected chairman in May 2022 despite the election defeat. "I have also learned a lot about myself and my strengths and weaknesses during this time." He now wants to "return to the engine room of politics and work strategically". He announced that he would be moving to the Climate Neutrality Foundation, where he would be responsible for the newly founded Social Climate Council as its third managing director.

Midyatli said that the resignation was unexpected. "This is not a usual situation for us." She reacted soberly in a written statement: "As much as I regret his personal decision to step down as parliamentary group chair and also to relinquish his mandate, this also shows his great sense of responsibility for the country and the party," she emphasized. "I give him credit for choosing this moment in time against the backdrop of his new professional role so that the SPD can set a new course early on."

Losse-Müller had repositioned the parliamentary group as Chairman after the state elections and led it with a great sense of responsibility. With him, the SPD in the state parliament has a clear profile in the debate with the government, said Midyatli.

Ex-banker Losse-Müller can look back on an unusual career as a politician. Finance Minister Monika Heinold (Greens) brought him to Schleswig-Holstein as State Secretary in 2012. As a Green, he rose to become head of the state chancellery of SPD Minister President Torsten Albig in 2014.

After the SPD lost the state election in 2017 and the switch to the Jamaica coalition of CDU, Greens and FDP, the father of two daughters left politics in Kiel and moved to a management consultancy - only to make a surprise reappearance as the SPD's top candidate for the 2022 state election. In the election campaign, Losse-Müller struggled in vain to raise his profile against the popular CDU Minister President Daniel Günther. Losse-Müller is regarded as a politician with a very sharp analytical mind who also maintains an authoritative and friendly tone in political debates.

After the 2022 election and the SPD's plummeting popularity among voters - the party only achieved 16% and did not win a single constituency - the parliamentary group postponed the election of its leadership after Midyatli had already publicly formulated her claim. Following internal talks, the state chairwoman had to back down in favor of Losse-Müller. The coming days will show whether she can and wants to get her old leadership post back.

The leader of the Greens' parliamentary group, Lasse Petersdotter, expressed his respect for the SPD parliamentary group leader's decision. "Thomas (Losse-Müller) is undeniably very well suited to the new task and I am looking forward to the political impetus from his new role." FDP parliamentary group leader Christopher Vogt thanked Losse-Müller for the collegial cooperation in the opposition despite differences in content. SSW Chairman Lars Harm praised Losse-Müller as competent in the matter and fair in his dealings. "As the SSW parliamentary group and as the parliamentary opposition, we have had a good and reliable partner in Thomas Losse-Müller."