Despite the SPD’s recent defeat, General Secretary Tim Klüßendorf ruled out any rupture of the black‑red coalition at the federal level. Asked whether the party could opt to leave the government, he told RTL and ntv on Monday, “No, absolutely not”. He reiterated that the SPD has always shown a willingness to take responsibility even in difficult circumstances, adding that “we will not surrender this country to the extremists”.
The Social Democrats were clear‑cut losers in Rhineland‑Palatinate, where they had underperformed the CDU on Sunday. After 35 years in power, they must now vacate the state chancellery. Calls from within the party for personnel changes at the top of the SPD had already surfaced on election night.
