Saskia Esken Failed to Change Germany’s Social Democrats

Saskia Esken Failed to Change Germany’s Social Democrats

German Social Democrat leader Saskia Esken was elected in 2019 promising to return the 150-year-old party to its roots. Her quest to change this establishment party was likely doomed all along — and now it’s shifting even further to the right. Saskia Esken during the presentation of the SPD's election campaign policy program on December 17, 2024, in Berlin, Germany. (Maja Hitij / Getty Images) After being passed over for a ministerial post in G…