Next earthquake in Berlin: SPD General Secretary Kühnert resigns!

Thuringia 24 Next earthquake in Berlin: SPD General Secretary Kühnert resigns! Article by Henrik Jonathan Zinn • 58 million • 2 minutes reading time After the Green Party leadership withdrew, there is now the next earthquake in political Berlin. SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert has announced his immediate resignation. The 35-year-old informed the SPD of his decision in a letter. Three years ago, Kevin Kühnert was elected General Secretary of the SPD, and he is now resigning from his post with immediate effect. He informed his party colleagues in a two-page letter on Monday (October 7). "I informed our party leaders Saskia (Esken) and Lars (Klingbeil) a few days ago that I am resigning from the office of SPD General Secretary today. I would like to thank them both for their understanding and empathy, as well as for our particularly close and friendly cooperation," the letter says. SPD earthquake: Kühnert resigns for health reasons Almost a year before the federal election (September 28, 2025), the SPD politician was primarily motivated to take this step by health reasons. "I will need the energy required for my office and an election campaign for the foreseeable future in order to get healthy again. That is why I am drawing the consequences." He has also ruled out running for the Bundestag again. He has informed his home association Tempelhof-Schöneberg (Berlin) that he is no longer available. Criticism of Kühnert, one of the leading SPD figures, has grown louder in recent weeks. The reason was the election defeats in Saxony and Thuringia. With 6.2 and 6.1 percent respectively, they struggled into the two state parliaments - a slap in the face for the Chancellor's party. In the Sunday question, the SPD is currently between 16 and 17 percentage points. Its biggest competitor, the Union, can look forward to twice as much support. At 2:45 p.m., Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil will appear before the press and make a statement about their resignation.