A German Social Democratic Party (SPD) faction meeting was reportedly held, in which the party’s chairman, Klingbeil, emphasized that the ultimate decision on a potential coalition agreement with the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) would be made by the party’s members. According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Klingbeil stated that the members would have the final say and that there is no automatic assumption of a coalition with the CDU. The internal consultation process is expected to last around two weeks, involving approximately 360,000 party members.
CDU leader Friedrich Merz, on the other hand, aims to conclude the negotiations by Easter and possibly become the next Chancellor by early May. Klingbeil acknowledged receiving a significant amount of criticism for his plan to take on the party and faction leadership simultaneously, despite the SPD’s historically poor Bundestag election result of 16.4%. He emphasized that he is only offering to lead the faction in addition to the party, stating, “I am making an offer.”
Klingbeil is set to run for the faction leadership on Wednesday, asking for a strong vote of confidence, as he believes he needs the trust and a strong mandate to effectively negotiate in potential talks. The chairman also emphasized the importance of the party and faction coming together at this time and rejected the notion that he is in competition with Boris Pistorius, who was previously considered a potential CDU candidate. Klingbeil stated that all current efforts are being made in close consultation with Pistorius.