Bärbel Bas resigns as Germany's labour minister and SPD co‑chair
She cited her daughter's death and "open attacks" within the coalition as reasons for stepping down.
Bärbel Bas announced on 12 October 2026 that she is resigning both as Germany's federal Minister of Labour and as co‑chair of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), citing the recent death of her daughter and mounting conflicts inside the governing coalition with Chancellor Friedrich Merz's CDU.
Bas said: "At the moment I am not able to gather enough strength to fully perform my governmental and party duties. Therefore I have decided to step down from both functions." She also referred to what she described as "open attacks" within the coalition as an additional factor in her decision.
Background and career
Bas, 58, has been a member of the Bundestag since 2009. Her profile rose sharply in 2021 when she became President of the Bundestag during the SPD-led coalition under then‑Chancellor Olaf Scholz. She remained Bundestag president until 2025, when she joined Chancellor Merz's cabinet as Minister of Labour and was elected co‑chair of the SPD alongside Lars Klingbeil.
In her resignation statement Bas said she had been widowed in 2020 and that her daughter's recent death left her needing time to grieve. She added that the SPD deserves strong leadership and that she could not currently deliver it.
The CDU has publicly accused Bas of delaying or blocking several reforms the conservatives had pushed for, including proposed changes to Germany's pension system and amendments to employment legislation—disputes that have increased tensions inside the coalition.
Before going public with her resignation, Bas informed both Chancellor Friedrich Merz and SPD co‑chair Lars Klingbeil, she said. German media report that Alexander Schweitzer, the former minister‑president of Rhineland‑Palatinate, is being discussed as a likely successor for the labour ministry.
Photo: press material from the event
