SPD leader and German labor minister Bärbel Bas resigns both posts

Bärbel Bas announced on 12 October 2026 that she was resigning as co-leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and asking Chancellor Friedrich Merz to release her from her post as Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, according to her own statement reported by Handelsblatt, web.de, t-online and Swiss broadcaster SRF.

Bas said she needed time to process the death of her stepdaughter and that she currently lacks the strength to fully carry out her government and party duties in the short term, so she decided to give up both positions, according to Handelsblatt, t-online and SRF.

A second reason: attacks from the coalition partner

Bas also pointed to political pressure on her, saying that public attacks on her had intensified during this personally difficult period, including from the ranks of the coalition partner, according to Handelsblatt, t-online and SRF. The coalition partner referred to is the CDU/CSU, which governs with the SPD under Chancellor Merz.

SPD co-chair and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil said he was saddened by her decision and described the attacks on her during the last days of her mourning as indecent, according to Handelsblatt and t-online.

SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch said he had great respect for her decision and noted that a person's strength is not unlimited, according to t-online.

Background: pressure over a stalled welfare reform

The resignation follows weeks of tension inside the coalition over the second phase of a reform to Germany's basic income support system (Grundsicherung), the successor to the Bürgergeld welfare benefit. In the period before her resignation, CDU lawmaker Christian von Stetten, head of the CDU/CSU's Parliamentary Circle for the Mittelstand (Mittelstandsunion), told Bild that Bas's position was no longer tenable and accused her of blocking the reform for months, according to audimax.de.

Von Stetten also criticized continued welfare payments to recipients subject to arrest warrants while other ministries, such as the family ministry led by the CDU's Karin Prien, were cutting spending on parental benefits, audimax.de reported. The SPD rejected the criticism at the time: General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf dismissed it as an unhelpful distraction tactic, and parliamentary group manager Dirk Wiese urged the Union not to project internal frustration onto its coalition partner, per the same report.

Who is Bärbel Bas

Bas, born 3 May 1968 in Duisburg, has been an SPD member since 1988. She served as President of the Bundestag from 26 October 2021 to 25 March 2025. Following the 2025 federal election, she became Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs on 6 May 2025 in Chancellor Merz's government and was elected SPD co-chair alongside Lars Klingbeil in June 2025, according to her biography on English Wikipedia.

What is still unknown

As of the reports reviewed, neither a successor as Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs nor a new SPD co-chair had been named. Swiss broadcaster SRF described the resignation as surprising, and German outlet zdfheute.de said further reporting on succession was pending at the time of publication.

Bas is keeping her Bundestag seat representing the Duisburg constituency, according to web.de, t-online and SRF, meaning she remains a member of parliament even after leaving the party leadership and the ministry.