Overview
- Co-chairs Martin Hikel and Nicola Böcker-Giannini told the executive board on Sunday they will step down at month’s end, citing “ever-stronger blockades” inside the party.
- Their exits follow internal defeats: Hikel accepted only 68.5% in a Neukölln renomination and bowed out there, while Böcker-Giannini lost a safe Reinickendorf list spot 17–49.
- The executive board unanimously proposed newly chosen Spitzenkandidat Steffen Krach as successor, with a formal chair election expected at a spring party congress.
- Interim leadership duties will be handled by deputy chairs until the vote, according to party statements.
- The turmoil hits less than a year before the 20 September 2026 Abgeordnetenhaus election, with the CDU–SPD government in place and SPD polling roughly 13–16%.