Bärbel Bas resigns as labour minister and SPD co-chair, Merz to propose Alexander Schweitzer
Labour minister Bärbel Bas has asked Chancellor Friedrich Merz to relieve her of her post and has given up the SPD co-chairmanship. She cites the death of her stepdaughter and public attacks from the coalition partner, and Alexander Schweitzer is named as her successor.
Bas steps down
Labour minister Bärbel Bas has asked Chancellor Friedrich Merz to dismiss her as federal minister for labour and social affairs and has resigned as SPD co-chair, a step announced on Monday, 12 October 2026. In a letter to the party and its parliamentary group, she gave the death of her stepdaughter as the reason and said she needed time 'to process the grief'. She also pointed to 'the public attacks on me, unfortunately also from the ranks of the coalition partner', which she said had intensified during a personally difficult period. The 58-year-old wrote that she currently lacked the strength for her government and party work. She keeps her Bundestag seat for Duisburg.
Successor and the SPD leadership
Merz wanted to submit his proposal to the Federal President the same day, naming former Rhineland-Palatinate minister-president Alexander Schweitzer as successor. Merz said Schweitzer 'takes on a very great responsibility'. SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil announced at the party headquarters, the Willy-Brandt-Haus, that a federal party congress in December or January should re-elect 'the entire SPD leadership'. Klingbeil said he would keep to the principle of a dual leadership but left open whether he would stand again. The SPD stands at 14 percent nationally and has suffered several election defeats this year, which Berliner Zeitung framed as a question of who now leads the party.
Reactions in the coalition
Merz wrote on X that her decision 'deserves respect' and that he could only imagine how heavy the loss was. CSU leader Markus Söder also expressed 'great respect' on X. Klingbeil cancelled his trip to New Delhi at short notice, the finance ministry said. Environment minister Carsten Schneider, speaking in Luxembourg, said Bas had done 'excellent work' as party chair and as labour minister. Manuela Schwesig, minister-president of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, called the CDU's attacks 'inhuman and ruthless', and Klingbeil described them as 'indecent'. Jochen Ott, the SPD parliamentary group leader in North Rhine-Westphalia, said 'humanity, decency and respect have been lost along the way in recent weeks'. Bas did not say which attacks she meant. At a press conference in the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus, Merz said:
Ms Bas and I worked together very well and in trust in the federal government for almost a year and a half. I regret her personal decision. But I respect it. I can imagine what a difficult time she is going through at the moment.
The CDU crisis behind the resignation
The resignation came during a two-day CDU presidium retreat in Berlin, which had been called after three heavy defeats in state elections in September. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern the CDU failed to enter the state parliament for the first time in its history. At the retreat Merz said: 'We have to work our way out of a low, including out of a crisis of trust'. He wants surplus budget room used to cut the electricity tax for everyone to the European minimum, as the coalition originally promised. The tax was so far reduced only for certain economic sectors, and the cut planned for 2025 was dropped for lack of budget room, with the mother's pension (Mütterrente) pursued instead under pressure from Söder. The CDU is to hold a conference of district chairs in early November, followed by member and regional conferences across Germany next year. Christian von Stetten, chair of the Mittelstand parliamentary circle, had attacked Bas sharply a month earlier and questioned her suitability for the post.
Open questions
Merz did not respond to the accusations against his party. Union politicians had criticised Bas for not submitting draft bills for planned reforms quickly enough, including pensions and a more flexible labour market, and accused her of delaying and blocking them. Merz hopes that open bills from the labour ministry can now be passed by the cabinet quickly. Merz also said he had asked his party internally for 'Christian consideration' toward Bas. The coalition is expected to face new tensions, and the SPD must choose its leadership by the December or January congress.
