The Saxon SPD chairman Martin Dulig surprisingly announced on Friday evening after a meeting of the state executive that he would not run for chairman again at the upcoming party congress.

The new election of the board, which was actually planned for the beginning of July, was postponed until after the federal election.

"The SPD needs a new impetus," said Dulig, who is also the deputy head of government and economics minister in the Free State, of his decision.

Stefan Locke

Correspondent for Saxony and Thuringia based in Dresden.

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    The party must position itself “new and broader”.

    After twelve years as state chairman, it is time to distribute the responsibility on more shoulders.

    The party should therefore be led by a dual leadership in the future.

    Dulig did not name names, but asked party members to consider whether they wanted to take on responsibility in the future.

    Dulig's decision comes at a time of growing internal party criticism of the state of the Saxon SPD, which only received 7.7 percent of the vote in the state elections two years ago.

    Five years before, also under his leadership, it was 12.4 percent.

    Dulig himself called it “the worst result of all time and just bitter” on Friday.

    Immediately after the election there were voices calling for the disaster to be dealt with, but they were ousted by the focus on the successful entry into the state government, in which the SPD only has the smallest coalition partner after the CDU and the Greens.

    However, Dulig had always defended the participation.

    The SPD could continue to participate in decision-making despite the loss of votes.

    In the government, she holds the ministries for the economy and social affairs.

    At a press conference called at short notice on Friday evening, Dulig stated that he wanted to continue to exercise his functions as minister and commissioner for the East of the Federal SPD.

    "I'm not running again, but I remain responsible," he said.

    "I will continue to be expected."

    It is currently completely unclear who will lead the party in the future. Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer (CDU) recently made the SPD responsible for the rise of the AfD in an interview: Because the Social Democrats addressed the alleged disadvantage of East Germany, they made East Germans victims. Dulig then said that he found Kretschmer's statements "strange". In return, he accused Kretschmer of not having done anything to combat injustice, but of “stirring up fear” on the subject of the minimum wage, for example.