Saskia Esken (60) was elected chairwoman of the SPD together with Norbert Walter-Borjans at the end of 2019. In a membership decision, the two outsiders prevailed against the then Vice-Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his co-applicant Klara Geywitz – and did not always speak well about the party friend.

After the success of Esken and “Nowabo”, the grand coalition was on the brink, but both made compromises and enjoyed governing. Today, Esken is the Chancellor’s biggest fan. In December 2021, the trained computer scientist was confirmed in office.