Germany's SPD will hold party conference with leadership election, Klingbeil says

German Finance ​Minister and Social Democratic ‌Party co-leader ​Lars Klingbeil said on Monday that Germany needs a ‌culture of mutual respect in politics and said the party will hold a federal party ‌conference in December or January.

"We will hold a ‌federal party conference, not a convention but a full federal party conference," Klingbeil said. "Following my proposal, the ⁠entire ​SPD leadership ⁠team will stand for election there, and a party ⁠leadership will be elected." This follows the resignation of ​Baerbel Bas, Germany's labour minister and co-head of ⁠the SPD, who said she had faced increasing "public ⁠attacks", ​including from members of the CDU/CSU conservative bloc, the SPD's coalition partners.

"We are ⁠competitors, and we need a culture of debate. ⁠But ⁠we also need a culture of mutual respect," Klingbeil said speaking to reporters.