Overview

• Susanne Schaper and Stefan Hartmann are stepping down after five and a half years of leadership that navigated the pandemic, the Ukraine war and a state election shortfall.
• Four candidates, including the ticket of Anja Eichhorn with Marco Böhme and solo contenders Marika Tändler-Walenta and Silvio Lang, are vying for the co-chair posts at this weekend’s Leipzig congress.
• The party has doubled its membership to over 11 000 under the outgoing duo and secured a direct mandate in Leipzig during the February federal election.
• The CDU-SPD minority government lacks ten seats and must secure Left Party backing to pass the €40 billion 2025/26 state budget.
• Delegates must decide whether to reject the budget as an austerity measure or approve it with conditions guaranteeing funding for social services, health, culture, education and climate protection at 2024 levels plus inflation.