Germany’s Social Democrats elect two new leaders

BERLIN: Germany’s governing Social Democrats on Saturday elected a centrist and a left-wing figurehead as its two new leaders, days after their election candidate Olaf Scholz was sworn in as chancellor.

The SPD returned to government following their victory in September’s election, forming an unprecedented three-party coalition with the Greens and business-friendly Free Democrats after ex-chancellor Angela Merkel’s 16-year tenure ended.

SPD activists voted for Lars Klingbeil, a centrist close to Scholz, and Saskia Esken, who has served as the party’s co-president for two years and represents its left wing. Klingbeil received 86.3 percent of votes and Esken 76.7 percent in a mostly virtual SPD congress in Berlin, with numbers limited due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The SPD’s return to power was initially deemed unlikely, but it emerged from this year’s poll with the most votes and seats in Germany’s federal parliament.

Half of the SPD’s MPs are new to parliament and a quarter are younger than 35, symbolising the party’s renewal after years in the wilderness.

"A victory in the legislative elections isn’t enough for me. We must continue on this path," Klingbeil, 43, told party delegates.