Hubertus Heil is running for SPD chairmanship: I'll be back again

Hubertus Heil wants to ensure that the SPD stands for something again. At least that's what can be read from the letter with which he announced his candidacy for chairmanship to the party on Saturday.

"We will only become stronger as the SPD if we are more visible as a party. And if we have clear concepts and new ideas," writes the 54-year-old, for example. People need to “know what the SPD stands for”. He knows “how important visible and programmatically clear parties are for the ability of a democracy to act”. Our democracy needs “a visible and strong social democracy” and social democracy will win elections again “if we know where we want to go”.

In addition, chairing a popular party in these times requires “full attention,” which is why he would devote “all of his energy” to the job. Heil doesn't even have to give a name so that it's clear who he's dishing it out against: Lars Klingbeil, currently Vice Chancellor and party leader. Since Bärbel Bas's resignation in October, Klingbeil has led the SPD alone. He has had a significant influence on the party's course since the last federal election. One of his first measures in the spring of 2025 was that he dumped Heil and no longer gave him a position in the federal cabinet.

Until then, it felt like Heil had always been there: he had been a member of the Bundestag since 1998. He was General Secretary of the SPD twice and has been Minister of Labor and Social Affairs since 2018. As a young member of parliament, he was once a co-founder of the “Berlin Network”, an alliance in the parliamentary group as a middle ground between the left wing and the conservative Seeheimer Kreis. “Unideological, pragmatic and well-behaved,” the taz wrote about the young group at the time.

As Minister of Social Affairs, the introduction of citizens' money was one of his biggest projects. It brought noticeable relief for those entitled to benefits. These facilitations have now been largely reversed, partly under his aegis.

Since his removal from the cabinet, he has sat on the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag. This is a place where political groups like to dump retired party celebrities. He used the quiet there to work on a book about “The Defense of Democracy against Internal and External Opponents,” which was published in October. On a reading tour and in accompanying interviews, he noticeably warmed up to his attempted comeback.

What exactly should the SPD stand for under him in the future? "We need time to develop a convincing program. We can only develop this together," he said in his letter to the party. But his initial thoughts are: income should be reliable and prices affordable, AI should serve people and there should be respect for work. Democracy must “be tangible in everyday life” and Europe must not become “the plaything of authoritarian powers”.

There was initially no great public support for Heil's candidacy over the weekend. On the contrary: several officials from the cabinet, state governments and the Bundestag faction supported Klingbeil on Sunday. The fact that someone is running against the Vice Chancellor definitely touches a nerve in the party. Also on Saturday, a party conference proposal from several SPD working groups became known. It is entitled: “Strengthening the independence of the SPD – separating party leadership and government office”. The boss should not sit in the federal cabinet at the same time.

However, there is no mention of state governments. Many in the SPD would also like Manuela Schwesig to declare her candidacy for the presidency. She is due to be re-elected as Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Monday. As SPD leader, she could form a dual leadership with Klingbeil, Heil or someone third. The party statutes also allow one person to take over the chairmanship alone.