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Sören Bartol (photo from 2022)

Photo: Jens Kalaene/dpa

SPD member of the Bundestag Sören Bartol wants to become the new Hessian state chairman of his party.

The Hessian SPD districts north and south have nominated Bartol instead of the incumbent Nancy Faeser for the new state chairman election in March.

The decision was made at a joint meeting, the districts said in a statement.

The North and South districts form the SPD regional association, and Federal Interior Minister Faeser has been its chairwoman since the end of 2019.

According to statements from party circles, Faeser will not run again as state chairman.

The state party conference of the Hesse SPD is planned for March 9th in Frankfurt.

According to a party spokeswoman, there are currently no opposing candidates to Bartol's candidacy.

Bartol, 49, is Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Construction.

The district boards of the SPD Hesse-North and Hesse-South had already announced on Monday that the Hessian state parliament member Josefine Koebe was applying for the office of general secretary.

Historically bad result in the 2023 state elections

“At the party conference in March we want to complete the new Hesse-SPD team consisting of parliamentary group, government and party,” said the district chairmen of the SPD Hesse-South, State Economics Minister Kaweh Mansoori, and the SPD Hesse-Nord, State Science Minister Timon Gremmels.

Bartol brings 22 years of parliamentary experience.

Both described Bartol as a “doer” and “team player.”

Mansoori was also considered a possible candidate for the state presidency.

In the state elections last October, the SPD in Hesse achieved a historically poor result with Faeser as the top candidate.

With 15.1 percent, the Social Democrats were behind the AfD (18.4) and CDU (34.6).

Faeser had announced that she would only move to Wiesbaden as head of government if she won the election;

Otherwise she will remain Interior Minister in Berlin.

After the election, election winner Boris Rhein (CDU) decided to form a coalition with the SPD, which has been in office since January.

til/ulz/dpa/AFP