Michael Roth, Minister of State for Europe in the Foreign Office, will once again lead the Hessian SPD as the top candidate in the federal election campaign.

The fifty-year-old from the Hersfeld-Rotenburg district received 293 out of 316 valid votes (92.7 percent) on Saturday at the state party conference of the Hessian Social Democrats in Offenbach.

This means that Roth was unable to improve its result compared to 2017 (95.3 percent).

21 delegates voted no, two abstained.

In second place on the state list, the delegates elected Dagmar Schmidt, member of the Bundestag, from Wetzlar for the Lahn-Dill district with 90.5 percent. Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht from the Bergstrasse district, who still held second place on the 2017 state list, could no longer be put up. Frankfurt's Kaweh Mansoori (81.7 percent) was confirmed in third place, followed by Bettina Mülller (Main-Kinzig-Kreis, 94.1 percent). Comrade Sören Bartol (Marburg-Biedenkopf, 93.6 percent) placed fifth. Sixth place is held by Natalie Pawlik (Wetteraukreis, 88.6 percent) and Jens Zimmermann (Odenwald, 89.2 percent) was chosen in seventh place. The Hessian regional group is currently represented in the Bundestag with twelve members. There are a total of 51 Social Democrats on the list of states elected on Saturday.

Committee of inquiry into the murders in Hanau announced

The Hessian state and parliamentary group leader Nancy Faeser announced during the party congress that the SPD would initiate a committee of inquiry into the racially motivated murders in Hanau, which should be set up before the state parliament's summer break. Faeser demanded that the attack must be fully investigated. Faeser, who a few weeks ago was threatened by anonymous letters from NSU 2.0 senders, said: “There are more pleasant things in life than receiving threatening letters. You also think about your own family. It gets stuck in the clothes. ”She thanked the Social Democrats for their solidarity and support. "I will never be intimidated," she called to the more than 300 delegates in the stadium on Bieberer Berg and announced that she would fight with all her might against hatred and anti-Semitism.“It is a shame that black and green are still not resolutely taking action against right-wing extremism,” she attacked the state government in Wiesbaden. Because of the SEK affair, she again demanded the resignation of Interior Minister Peter Beuth (CDU).

 "Our mission is, was and will be to save social democracy," said top candidate Roth in his application speech. “Mutti has finished after 16 years,” he urged the Social Democrats to engage in a committed election campaign. Germany is facing a dramatic upheaval. People are worried, including about their jobs. "In this country, advancement must be possible regardless of the thickness of the parents' wallet," said Roth. Climate protection must be socially balanced and sustainable. This is what the SPD stands for, because social and environmental issues belong together. He described social dumping as one of the biggest social scandals in Germany. “Conservatives are interested in the market and money and not in values,” complained Roth. That is different with the SPD.