Petra Köpping leads Saxony's SPD into the 2024 state election as top candidate

The current Minister of Social Affairs, Petra Köpping, will lead Saxony's SPD into next year's state elections as the top candidate. The 65-year-old received 97 percent of the delegates' votes at the extraordinary state party conference in Neukieritzsch (Leipzig district) on Saturday. "Now let's get our hands dirty, let's get going," said Köpping after the election.

In her speech, Köpping called for more will to shape the most pressing problems in the state. The 65-year-old said that it was not enough to simply name the problems and enrich them with unworthy discussions. The municipalities need more financial leeway to tackle problems in the areas of education, migration and healthcare.

The Greens and SPD are currently junior partners in a coalition with the CDU, which provides the Minister President. In the 2019 state elections, the Social Democrats achieved 7.7 percent of the vote in Bavaria. They are currently polling at around the same level.