BERLIN -- The leader of Germany's centre-left Social Democrats, a junior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition, announced her resignation Sunday following days of speculation over the fallout from the party's debacle in the European Parliament election.

Andrea Nahles said she wanted "clarity" after questions were raised about her ability to lead the party.

"The necessary support for me to carry out my duties isn't there anymore," she said in a statement Sunday.

Nahles said she will be stepping down from her post as chairwoman of the Social Democrats and leader of its parliamentary faction in the coming days, to ensure that her successors are found "in an orderly fashion."

The Social Democrats fell to third place behind Merkel's centre-right Union bloc and the Greens in the May 26 European Parliament election in Germany.

Nahles took over as party leader in February 2018, as the Social Democrats reluctantly extended their "grand coalition" with Merkel's conservatives following a poor showing in the previous year's German election.

While the Social Democrats have managed to push through their agenda of improving social welfare and working conditions for millions of Germans, voters haven't rewarded the party for it in the polls.

Instead, many have turned to the environmentalist Greens, the far-right anti-migrant Alternative for Germany, the socialist Left party or Merkel's increasingly centrist Union bloc in recent years.

An election loss last week in the Social Democrats' longtime bastion , the tiny northwestern state of Bremen, and the prospect of further defeats in upcoming regional votes in eastern Germany this fall has alarmed many in the party.

Party colleague Olaf Scholz, who is Germany's finance minister and vice-chancellor, said he regretted Nahles' decision but that she deserved respect for it.

"The Social Democratic Party hasn't just been in a difficult position since the European elections," he said. "That's why it's important we stick together and jointly take the next step."

Former party leader Sigmar Gabriel told the daily Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung that the Social Democrats needed a "detox" to prevent internal power struggles from further harming the party.

The Social Democrats had planned to hold a midterm review of the coalition with Merkel's bloc later this year, raising the prospect of an early end to the coalition.

Merkel, who handed the leadership of her Christian Democratic Union party to Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer in December, has said she wants to stay on as chancellor until her fourth term ends when Germany holds its next national election in late 2021.

The Christian Democrats were meeting late Sunday to review their own election result but that is likely to be overshadowed by discussions about the future of the governing coalition.

Both Merkel and Kramp-Karrenbauer planned to comment on Nahles' resignation on the sidelines of the meeting. </s> Andrea Nahles to Step Down as Leader of German Social Democrats

(Bloomberg) -- Andrea Nahles, the leader of Germany’s Social Democratic Party, the junior coalition partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government, said she will resign as party chief and also step down as the party’s caucus leader in the national parliament.

“The necessary support for exercising my duties is no longer there,” Nahles said in a statement e-mailed by her party. Nahles said that she’ll resign as party chairwoman on Monday and as caucus leader on Tuesday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rainer Buergin in Berlin at rbuergin1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Erhard Krasny at ekrasny@bloomberg.net, James Amott </s> Image copyright EPA Image caption Andrea Nahles's SPD suffered heavy losses in last week's European elections

Andrea Nahles has announced she will resign as leader of Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD).

It comes after the centre-left party came third, behind the Greens and Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), in the European elections.

Ms Nahles had been heavily criticised by the SPD's left for remaining in coalition with Ms Merkel's party.

CDU leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer warned the SPD not to endanger the coalition government.

"I assume the SPD will undergo a succession in short order without hindrance to the functioning of the grand coalition," she said.

"In the CDU we believe that this is not the time to play politics. We want to serve our country with good governing policies."

Ms Nahles said she would quit as party leader on Monday, and as head of its parliamentary group on Tuesday.

In a statement released by the SPD on Sunday she said: "The discussions within the parliamentary faction and feedback from within the party have shown me that I no longer have the necessary support to carry out my duties."

She had earlier announced that the leadership contest would take place on Tuesday.

Her resignation comes as a surprise. She became party leader in April last year, and was expected to run for the position again.

In last week's European Union parliamentary elections, her party hit an all-time low, getting less than 16% of the vote.

And on Saturday, an opinion poll showed that support for the SPD was the lowest it had ever been, at just 12%. At the same time, the Greens were shown to have overtaken the conservative CDU as Germany's most popular party for the first time.

What does this mean for the ruling coalition?

Ms Nahles' resignation could threaten the current government.

If the SPD were to quit the coalition, the fall of the government would be likely to trigger fresh elections.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz, of the SPD, speaks with Chancellor Angela Merkel

But the left wing of the SPD has been urging the party to leave the coalition since it entered into government with Ms Merkel last year. They say that compromising with conservatives has been costing them support.

The SPD's Olaf Scholz, who is also Germany's vice-chancellor, told the Tagesspiegel newspaper that he has ruled out entering another such coalition.

"Three grand coalitions in a row would not do democracy in Germany any good," he said in the interview published on Sunday, before Ms Nahles announced her resignation. </s> The leader of Germany's center-left Social Democrats, a junior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition, announced her resignation Sunday following days of speculation over the fallout from the party's debacle in the European Parliament election.

Andrea Nahles said she wanted "clarity" after questions were raised about her ability to lead the party.

"The necessary support for me to carry out my duties isn't there anymore," she said in a statement Sunday.

Nahles said she will be stepping down from her post as chairwoman of the Social Democrats and leader of its parliamentary faction in the coming days, to ensure that her successors are found "in an orderly fashion."

The Social Democrats fell to third place behind Merkel's center-right Union bloc and the Greens in last month's European Parliament election in Germany.

Nahles took over as party leader in February 2018, as the Social Democrats reluctantly extended their "grand coalition" with Merkel's conservatives following a poor showing in the previous year's German election.

While the Social Democrats have managed to push through their agenda of improving social welfare and working conditions for millions of Germans, voters haven't rewarded the party for it in the polls.

Instead, many have turned to the environmentalist Greens, the far-right anti-migrant Alternative for Germany, the socialist Left party or Merkel's increasingly centrist Union bloc in recent years.

An election loss last week in the Social Democrats' longtime bastion , the tiny northwestern state of Bremen, and the prospect of further defeats in upcoming regional votes in eastern Germany this fall has alarmed many in the party.

The Social Democrats plan to hold a midterm review of the coalition with Merkel's bloc later this year, raising the prospect of an early end to the coalition.

Merkel, who handed the leadership of her Christian Democratic Union party to Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer in December, has said she wants to stay on as chancellor until her fourth term ends when Germany holds its next national election in late 2021. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption Martin Schulz said his resignation could help the SPD renew itself

The head of Germany's Social Democrats (SPD), Martin Schulz, has resigned to ease preparations for a coalition government with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives.

Mr Schulz said he was handing over to a left-winger, Andrea Nahles, with immediate effect. However, SPD members have to vote on the change on 22 April.

SPD sources say Hamburg mayor Olaf Scholz will be interim leader.

Martin Schulz stepped down saying he wanted to end SPD "personnel debates".

The SPD has agreed on a blueprint for coalition government with Ms Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and her Bavarian CSU allies.

SPD members will vote on the coalition deal next month - the result is expected on 4 March.

Image copyright EPA Image caption Andrea Nahles is a former labour minister who once headed the SPD youth wing

The centre-left SPD is on course to run six ministries, including finance and foreign affairs.

Mr Schulz, formerly European Parliament president, has said he will not serve as foreign minister. He has faced strong criticism inside the SPD.

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There has been more than four months of coalition negotiations - a German post-war record - since inconclusive elections in September.

A breakthrough was finally announced last week, with major concessions given to the SPD.

Many in the SPD fear that re-entering a coalition with the CDU/CSU could damage the party in the long term.

The SPD and CDU both had their worst results for decades in the election, which catapulted the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) into parliament for the first time, with 94 seats. </s> FRANKFURT, June 2 (Reuters) - Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) head Andrea Nahles said on Sunday she would resign as its chief as well giving up her position as leader of its German parliamentary group, saying she did not have the support she needed to continue.

The SPD leadership upheaval comes as the Greens have overtaken Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives to become the most popular party in Germany, an opinion poll on Saturday showed, with the SPD support at an all-time low.

"The discussions within the parliamentary faction and feedback from within the party have shown me that I no longer have the necessary support to carry out my duties," Nahles said in a statement released by the SPD on Sunday.

Nahles said she would resign her position as head of the SPD on Monday and quit her position as leader of the party in parliament on Tuesday. (Reporting by Edward Taylor Editing by Alexander Smith) </s> Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) head and the junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition government, Andrea Nahles, on Sunday announced that she would resign from her position, citing a lack of support she needed to continue.

“The discussions within the parliamentary faction and feedback from within the party have shown me that I no longer have the necessary support to carry out my duties,” Nahles said in an official statement.

The fact that this developments is likely to create a short-term political uncertainty in the euro area's biggest economy suggests that the shared currency could start the week on the back foot. </s> Martin Schulz has quit as chairman of Germany's Social Democrats with immediate effect, saying it is time for a "renewal" of the centre-left party.

The move came after he on Friday abandoned his plan to become the country's foreign minister in a new coalition government with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, following pressure from within the party.

He told reporters the party's leadership had unanimously nominated his choice for a successor, parliamentary caucus leader Andrea Nahles.

She will have to be approved by a party congress on April 22, he said.

The turmoil at the top of the Social Democrats has been a major distraction as its leaders have been lobbying for the party to approve the new coalition agreement with Mrs Merkel's conservative bloc.

It is being put to a ballot of the Social Democrats' 460,000 members.

If members reject the coalition, Mrs Merkel's only realistic options would be to form a minority government or seek fresh elections.

Mr Schulz said the coalition agreement was "70%" Social Democratic policy and urged party members to bring "the personnel debate to an end" with his resignation and concentrate on passing the deal.

"This is a good agreement," he said.

The party chose deputy leader and Hamburg mayor Olaf Scholz as the new interim head until a permanent chairman is elected in April.

Mr Scholz will support Ms Nahles at the party congress. </s> German Social Democrat leader (SPD) Martin Schulz stepped down with immediate effect on Tuesday and said the party's committee had backed parliamentary floor leader Andrea Nahles as his successor.

BERLIN: German Social Democrat leader (SPD) Martin Schulz stepped down with immediate effect on Tuesday and said the party's committee had backed parliamentary floor leader Andrea Nahles as his successor.

Nahles still needs to be formally nominated by the party executive, which is meeting on Tuesday evening. A vote will then take place at an extraordinary party congress on April 22.

The move comes ahead of a ballot of the SPD's 464,000 members, who get the chance to veto a coalition deal agreed last week with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives.

The SPD is split over the coalition deal and the division of ministerial posts. Schulz said after the deal was announced that he would step down following the members' vote - the results of which are due to be announced on March 4 - to take the job of foreign minister, but later dropped that plan amid controversy.
Andrea Nahles announces her resignation as leader of Germany's Social Democratic Party, effective at the beginning of next week.