World
ALEMANIA Bärbel Bas steps down as labor minister and SPD co-leader for personal reasons
The Social Democrat announced her immediate exit from the government and the party leadership. Der Spiegel reported that she will keep her seat in the Bundestag.
Bärbel Bas has resigned as Germany’s federal labor and social affairs minister and as co-leader of the SPD. She announced the decision on Instagram on Monday morning, citing personal reasons.
Bas said that after the death of her stepdaughter she realized she needed time to process her grief. She also said public attacks against her had intensified during that period, including from within the coalition partner’s ranks.
The resignation is to take effect immediately. Bas said she informed Lars Klingbeil that she was leaving the party post as of today and asked Chancellor Friedrich Merz to release her from the ministry. According to Der Spiegel, she will retain only her mandate as a Bundestag lawmaker for Duisburg.
Der Spiegel, citing party sources, reported that former Rhineland-Palatinate minister-president Alexander Schweitzer will become the new labor and social affairs minister.
After the announcement, Klingbeil said on social media that he was very saddened by the decision but understood it on a personal level, and he also criticized the attacks directed at Bas during her mourning. The German outlet also reported that the vice chancellor and finance minister canceled a planned trip to India on Monday.
Matthias Miersch, the SPD parliamentary group leader, said he had great respect for the decision and praised Bas for standing up for the party’s values even when it became uncomfortable. Public reactions also came from Friedrich Merz, Manuela Schwesig, Karl Lauterbach, Peter Altmaier, Wolfgang Kubicki, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann and Stefan Evers.
Bas has served in the Bundestag since 2009 and was president of parliament from 2021 to 2025. In Merz’s government, she succeeded Hubertus Heil at the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry. Most recently, she had been working on draft legislation to implement a pension compromise negotiated over the summer, amid repeated disputes between the SPD and the Union over pension policy and care reform.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
