Berlin (dpa) – Germany’s Federal Minister for Labour and Social Affairs and SPD leader Bärbel Bas has announced that she will be stepping down from both offices with immediate effect. “Since I am currently unable to muster the strength to fully carry out my governmental and party duties on short notice, I have decided to step down from both offices,” the 58-year-old said. This is due to a death in the family. Bas expressed her gratitude for the support she has received at the Ministry of Labour and said that she would remain a member of the Bundestag.
CDU/CSU politicians had recently criticised Bas harshly for not submitting draft laws for planned reforms quickly enough – for example in the area of pensions.
Alexander Schweitzer is to succeed her as the head of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The 53-year-old lawyer was the state premier of Rhineland-Palatinate from 2024 to 2026 and had lost the Landtag election as the SPD’s candidate last March. Ever since, there has been speculation that Schweitzer wanted to move to Berlin to join the Federal Cabinet. The politician is currently one of the deputy party chairs of the SPD – as well as the parliamentary group chairman in Rhineland-Palatinate.
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