Combative former labour minister Andrea Nahles is first woman to lead party in 155 years

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Germany’s centre-left Social Democrats have elected Andrea Nahles, a combative and outspoken former labour minister, as the first female leader of the 155-year-old party.

Known for her lectern-thumping speeches and occasional outbursts of child-like humour, the 47-year-old single mother joins the country’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, at the top of German politics – and may one day seek her job.

“We’re breaking though the glass ceiling in the SPD,” Nahles said at the delegates’ meeting in the city of Wiesbaden. “And the ceiling will stay open.”

Well-connected within her party, Nahles, a former leader of its Jusos youth wing, won 66% of the vote, beating Simone Lange, 41, a former policewoman and mayor of the city of Flensburg.

The less than stellar result against an outsider reflected lingering resentment within the party toward the decision, which Nahles strongly promoted, of govern as junior partners again to Merkel’s conservatives.

Germany’s finance minister and the SPD’s interim leader, Olaf Scholz, said electing a woman was a sign of long-overdue progress and a historic moment.

In the run-up to the vote, wellwishers had ironically expressed hope that Nahles would do worse than her predecessor Martin Schulz.

A repeat of his 100% party backing last year would have seemed like bad omen given that the SPD won only 20.5% of the vote in the September 2017 general election, the party’s worst result since the second world war.

Nahles now faces the dual challenge of governing responsibly with Merkel while convincing her party’s dwindling number of working-class voters that the SPD is still their champion.

Nahles vowed that the party would fight for social justice and welfare. “Solidarity is what is most lacking in the globalised, neoliberal, turbo-digitalised world,” she said.

She pledged a fight for decent wages as technology destroys traditional jobs, and a pro-EU foreign policy that emphasises pacifism and international cooperation.

From the party’s left, Nahles scored some landmark successes under the previous Merkel coalition government, notably in introducing a minimum wage.

When voters declined to reward the SPD for such gains, the party initially vowed a muscular fight from the opposition benches.

Nahles summed up the party’s combative approach to the Merkel government at the time by telling journalists that “from tomorrow we’ll smack ’em in the face”.

When it turned out that the SPD was likely to rejoin Merkel after all, but drive a tough bargain in the process, she used a kindergarten taunt that loosely translates as “na-na na-na boo-boo”.

It was not out of style for Nahles, who once mocked Merkel’s party in the Bundestag with a slightly off-key rendition of the theme song of Swedish children’s book hero Pippi Longstocking.

Some find such performances grating, but few underestimate Nahles who, like Merkel, is considered a hard worker and a sharp strategist and political operator.</s>Germany's Social Democratic Party on Sunday chose Andrea Nahles as its new leader during its party congress in the western city of Wiesbaden.

Nahles, who was until now leader of the SPD parliamentary group, thus became the first woman to lead the formation in its 154 years of existence.</s>Germany's Social Democratic Party on Sunday chose Andrea Nahles as its new leader during its party congress in the western city of Wiesbaden.

Nahles, who was until now leader of the SPD parliamentary group, thus became the first woman to lead the formation in its 154 years of existence.

The successor to Martin Schulz claimed 66 percent of the votes cast by over 600 party members present at the congress, beating her rival, Flensburg mayor Simone Lange.</s>Germany’s centre-left Social Democrats on Sunday elected Andrea Nahles, a combative and outspoken former labour minister, as the first woman leader of the 155-year-old party.

A decades-long SPD stalwart known for her lectern-thumping speeches, the 47-year-old single mother won 66 percent of the party vote, beating Simone Lange, 41, a former policewoman and mayor of the city of Flensburg.</s>Wiesbaden (Germany) (AFP) - Germany's Social Democrats on Sunday elected Andrea Nahles, a combative and outspoken former labour minister, as the first woman leader of the 155-year-old party, albeit with a lacklustre vote result.

Known for her lectern-thumping speeches and occasional outbursts of child-like humour, the 47-year-old single mother joins Chancellor Angela Merkel at the top of German politics -- and as the woman who may one day seek her job.

"We're breaking though the glass ceiling in the SPD," said Nahles at the delegates' meeting in the city of Wiesbaden. "And the ceiling will stay open."

Well-connected within her party, Nahles, a former leader of its Jusos youth wing, won 66 percent of the vote, beating Simone Lange, 41, an ex-policewoman and mayor of the city of Flensburg.

The less than stellar result against an outsider reflected lingering resentment within the party against the decision, strongly promoted by Nahles, to once more govern as junior partners to Merkel's conservatives.

Conservative daily Die Welt called the outcome "a vote of no confidence" that "throws a spotlight on the conflict within the SPD".

Nonetheless, electing a female leader is "a sign of progress that was long overdue," said the SPD's outgoing interim leader, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who called it "a historic moment".

In the lead-up to the vote, well-wishers had ironically expressed hope that Nahles would do worse than her predecessor Martin Schulz.

A repeat of his 100-percent party backing last year amid a euphoric "Schulz hype" would be seen as a bad omen given that in the end, he scored just 20.5 percent in the September 2017 general election, the party's worst post-war result.

While Schulz's roller-coaster ride in German politics has shuddered to a halt, the task of revitalising the dispirited SPD now falls to Nahles.

A survey last week by Infratest dimap found that 47 percent of respondents doubted that the party veteran is the right person to lead a "renewal", while just one third expressed confidence.

The challenge for her labour party now will be to at once govern responsibly with Merkel, and convince its dwindling band of working-class voters that it is still their champion.

Nahles vowed that the SPD will fight for social justice and welfare, declaring that "solidarity is what is most lacking in the globalised, neoliberal, turbo-digitalised world".

She pledged a fight for decent wages as technology destroys traditional jobs, and a pro-EU foreign policy that also emphasises pacifism and international cooperation.

Nahles, from the party's left wing, scored some landmark successes under the previous Merkel coalition government, notably in introducing a minimum wage.

When voters declined to reward the SPD for such gains, the party initially promised a muscular fight from the opposition benches.

Nahles at the time summed up the SPD's combative spirit against the Merkel government with a street brawler's phrase, telling journalists that "from tomorrow we'll smack 'em in the face".

When it turned out the SPD would likely rejoin Merkel after all, but drive a tough bargain in the process, she used a kindergarten taunt that loosely translates as "na-na na-na boo-boo".

It was not out of style for Nahles, who once mocked Merkel's party in the Bundestag with a slightly off-key rendition of the reality-denying theme song of Swedish children's book hero Pippi Longstocking.

While some find such performances grating, few underestimate Nahles, who, like Merkel, is considered a sharp strategist, hard worker and bareknuckle political operator.

When she invigorated her party with a passionate speech in January, the tabloid-style Bild daily paid her the questionable compliment of being "the only real guy" in the SPD.

Nahles, the daughter of a bricklayer, hails from a small village in the rural Eifel region where she still lives in her great-grandparents' farmhouse with her young daughter.

She wrote in her high school yearbook that one day she wanted to be "either a housewife or chancellor".

Nahles founded her party's first chapter in her home village and, while studying German language and literature, joined the SPD youth wing, which she headed from age 25.

In her career since, she has been a key figure in several crucial power plays and fought former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Agenda 2010 welfare cuts, telling him she had no time for "political machos".

Most recently she sidelined the two men who had dominated the SPD, Schulz and former foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel. Both are now watching German politics from the parliamentary backbenches.</s>The 154-year-old party which is a junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition, picked Nahles after former leader Martin Schulz resigned from the position after a poor election campaign

Andrea Nahles has promised to raise the profile of the party and turn its fortunes around.</s>Germany's centre-left Social Democrats on Sunday elected Andrea Nahles, a combative and outspoken former labour minister, as the first woman leader of the 155-year-old party.

BERLIN: Germany's centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) on Sunday (Apr 22) elected Andrea Nahles, a combative and outspoken former labour minister, as the first woman leader of the 155-year-old party.

A decades-long SPD stalwart known for her lectern-thumping speeches, the 47-year-old single mother joins Chancellor Angela Merkel at the top of German politics - and as the woman who may one day seek her job.

"Today, at this party congress, we're breaking though the glass ceiling in the SPD," said Nahles at the meeting in the city of Wiesbaden. "And the ceiling will stay open."

Well-connected within her party, Nahles, a former leader of its Jusos youth wing, won 66 percent of the vote, beating Simone Lange, 41, a former policewoman and mayor of the city of Flensburg.

The less than stellar result reflected lingering resentment within the party against the decision, strongly promoted by Nahles, to once more govern as junior partners to Merkel's conservatives.

Electing a female SPD leader is "a sign of progress that was long overdue, and it's good that it's happening now," said the party's outgoing interim leader, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who called the vote "a historic moment".

Nahles, a bricklayer's daughter who hails from the party's left wing, vowed to lead a renewal of Germany's second biggest party, which scored just 20.5 per cent in the September 2017 general election - its worst post-war result.

The SPD's challenge now will be to at once govern responsibly as junior coalition partners, while also convincing its dwindling band of working-class voters that it is still fighting for their interests.

Nahles vowed that the SPD would fight for social justice and welfare, declaring that "solidarity is what is most lacking in the globalised, neoliberal, turbo-digitalised world".

She pledged to promote decent wages as technology destroys traditional jobs, and a pro-EU foreign policy that also emphasises pacifism, diplomacy and international cooperation.

In her speech Sunday, Nahles also vowed a determined fight against rightwing populists of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), declaring that the battle "is about nothing less than preserving our democracy".

For now, Nahles faces a huge challenge ahead - a survey last week found that 47 per cent of respondents doubted that the party veteran is the right person to lead a renewal.

Only one third had confidence that Nahles would be able to strengthen the party, said the poll by Infratest dimap for public broadcaster ARD.</s>Germany’s Social Democrats are Sunday expected to elect Andrea Nahles, a combative and outspoken former labour minister, as the first woman leader of the 155-year-old party.

Known for her lectern-thumping speeches and occasional outbursts of child-like humour, the 47-year-old single mother joins Chancellor Angela Merkel at the top of German politics.

Well-known for two decades in her SPD party, Nahles is expected to easily beat the only other candidate, Simone Lange, a former policewoman and mayor of the northern city of Flensburg.

Yet well-wishers are ironically hoping that the party stalwart does worse than her predecessor Martin Schulz in the delegates’ vote at an SPD congress in the city of Wiesbaden.

A repeat of his 100-percent backing last year amid a euphoric “Schulz hype” would be seen as a bad omen given that in the end the luckless candidate scored just 20 percent in the September 2017 general election, the party’s worst post-war result.

While Schulz’s roller-coaster ride in German politics has shuddered to a halt, the task of revitalising the dispirited SPD falls to Nahles, who campaigned strongly for another stint as junior partners to Merkel’s conservatives.

The challenge for her labour party now will be to at once govern responsibly and convince its dwindling band of working-class voters that it is still fighting for their interests.

Nahles, from the party’s left wing, scored some landmark successes under the previous Merkel coalition government, notably in introducing a minimum wage.

When voters declined to reward the SPD in the 2017 elections for such gains, Schulz initially vowed a muscular fight from the opposition benches.

Nahles at the time summed up the SPD’s combative spirit against the Merkel government with a street brawler’s phrase, telling journalists that “from tomorrow we’ll smack ’em in the face”.

When it turned out the SPD could rejoin Merkel after all, but drive a tough bargain in the process, she used a kindergarden taunt that loosely translates as “na-na na-na boo-boo”.

It was not out of style for Nahles, who once mocked Merkel’s party in the Bundestag by performing a slightly off-key rendition of the reality-denying theme song of Swedish children’s book hero Pippi Longstocking.

While some find such performances grating, few underestimate Nahles, who, like Merkel, is considered a sharp strategist and hard worker, and a bareknuckle political operator.

When she invigorated her party with a passionate speech in January, the tabloid-style Bild daily paid her the questionable compliment of being “the only real guy” in her party.

Nahles, the daughter of a bricklayer, hails from a small village in the rural Eifel region where she still lives in her great-grandparents’ farmhouse with her young daughter and likes to ride a horse at the weekends.

A church-going Roman Catholic, she has described herself as a conservative at heart, albeit one who fights for working-class people.

Nahles wrote in her high school yearbook that one day she wanted to be “either a housewife or chancellor”.

She founded her party’s first chapter in her home village and, while studying German language and literature, joined the SPD youth wing, which she headed from age 25.

In her career since, she has been a key figure in several crucial power plays and fought former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s Agenda 2010 welfare cuts, telling him she had no time for “political machos”.

Most recently she sidelined the two men who had dominated the SPD, Schulz and former foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel. Both are now watching German politics from the parliamentary backbenches.

Political analyst Matthias Micus of the Institute for Democracy Research in Goettingen questioned whether Nahles, as “a representative of the party establishment”, is the best choice to lead a renewal of the SPD.

But when in comes to rebuilding the party’s image as the champion of the common people, he said, Nahles is “well suited and credible”.</s>BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) elected Andrea Nahles as their first ever female chairwoman on Sunday, hoping she can reinvigorate the country’s oldest party after it suffered heavy losses in September’s election.

The 154-year-old SPD, junior partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s governing coalition, picked Nahles after former leader Martin Schulz resigned from the position given that his election campaign earned the party its worst result since 1933.</s>Germany's center-left Social Democrats are electing a new leader to spearhead the party's recovery from a disastrous election result and guide it through a fractious coalition government with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives.

Andrea Nahles, the combative leader of the party's parliamentary group, is overwhelmingly favored to win election at a congress in Wiesbaden on Sunday. But, unusually for Germany, she has a challenger in Simone Lange, the left-leaning mayor of the northern town of Flensburg.

The Social Democrats slumped to their worst result since World War II in September's election, securing only 20.5 percent of the vote. The party initially planned to go into opposition, but reluctantly changed course after Merkel's negotiations with two smaller parties collapsed and eventually agreed to enter another "grand coalition" as the chancellor's junior partner.
Andrea Nahles is elected as the first female leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany.