Junior coalition partners to Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), the SPDelect their new leaders against a backdrop of disastrous poll ratings andinternal division over their role in government. The 425,630 party members have from Tuesday until November 29th to cast theirvote, as they elect the first male-female leadership duo in the party's 129-year history. In a leadership election dominated by one major issue, SPD members must choose between two pairs with differing views on the coalition government. In place since 2017, it is the third so-called "grand coalition" since 2005, and remains unpopular among voters and SPD members alike. Nahles' resignation came after the once proud SPD picked up just 15.3 percent of the vote in May's EU elections, confirming their steady slide in poll ratings in recent years.

Source: The Local November 19, 2019 11:26 UTC