Germany's SPD to hold federal conference with leadership election, Klingbeil says

Lars Klingbeil, Germany's finance minister and co-leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), said the party will convene a full federal party conference in December or January, according to Internazionale. Speaking to reporters in Berlin on Monday, he said the gathering would not be a smaller convention but a complete federal conference.

Under a proposal put forward by Klingbeil, the entire SPD leadership team will stand for election at that conference, and a new party leadership will be chosen. The announcement sets the stage for a broad reshuffle at the top of one of Germany's governing parties.

The move follows the resignation of Baerbel Bas, Germany's labour minister and the other co-head of the SPD. Bas said she had faced mounting "public attacks," including from members of the CDU/CSU conservative bloc, which governs in coalition with the Social Democrats.

Klingbeil addressed the tone of German politics directly, saying that while parties are political competitors, debate needs to be conducted with respect. "We are competitors, and we need a culture of debate. But we also need a culture of mutual respect," he said, according to Internazionale.

The leadership vote will determine who takes charge of the SPD alongside Klingbeil and will shape the party's direction as it continues to govern in coalition with the conservatives. The conference date is expected to fall at the end of the year or in the first weeks of the next.