BERLIN — Germany’s Labor and Social Affairs Minister Bärbel Bas is expected to take over as co-leader of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), POLITICO has learned from party insiders.
The decision comes just days after Germany’s new government — a coalition between Friedrich Merz’s conservative bloc and the SPD — was sworn in. Bas would lead the SPD alongside Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, replacing outgoing co-chair Saskia Esken.
Bas, 56, is a highly respected figure across the political spectrum. She recently took on the role of labor minister and previously served as president of the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, where she earned rare praise across party lines for her fairness and institutional savvy.