Katrin Lange's letter to the SPD in full: "I have also made mistakes myself" – exclusive
Following her resignation as Brandenburg's Minister of the Interior, Katrin Lange is also stepping down from the SPD leadership. She once again made her point before the party conference.
In August 2013, Katrin Lange became deputy chairwoman of the Brandenburg SPD . At the same party conference at which Dietmar Woidke was elected party chairman, Lange, who was then district administrator in Meyenburg in the Prignitz region, also joined the state government under Woidke, serving first as state secretary, then finance minister in 2019, and after the 2024 state election, she became interior minister. She remained in office for only five months: Following a conflict, she dismissed the head of the Brandenburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Subsequently, she was sharply attacked even within her own party and resigned on May 16.
Katrin Lange has given the Berliner Zeitung her first interview since her resignation. In it, she describes her perspective on the conflict, explains her own mistakes, and takes issue with parts of her party. The interview will appear in the weekend edition of the Berliner Zeitung and online on Friday evening.
“There have been plots against me behind my back”On Saturday, the Brandenburg SPD will meet in Cottbus for its state party conference. Katrin Lange will no longer be running for the executive board—and will not be attending. Instead, she has written a letter to her party, which we document verbatim here:
"Dear comrades, after twelve years, I will not be running for re-election as your deputy state chairwoman. It has always been an honor and mostly a pleasure. I would like to thank the state executive committee for the good cooperation, especially Dietmar Woidke and Ines Hübner, but also everyone else involved.
During this time, we successfully contested three state elections with Dietmar Woidke. Under mostly difficult circumstances, many political observers did not believe the Brandenburg SPD would be successful. In other elections, the results were mixed – as was the case most recently in the federal election. The SPD is always most successful here in the state when it presents itself with a clear and independent profile as a 'Brandenburg party.'
We've always benefited from being a house with many rooms, a party that appealed to a broad spectrum of voters, and from acting as Matthias Platzeck always put it: "With our faces to the people!" I doubt that's still the case today.
I know myself that I didn't cut a good figure in the debate over the AfD's upgrade. I also made mistakes myself. But what I experienced within the party during this process went beyond what I was willing to accept.
That's why my resignation as Minister of the Interior was inevitable; and that's why I'm no longer running for your deputy state chair. I've been accused by my own party of pandering to "right-wing extremist discourse." Party colleagues have denied my "social democratic DNA." There have been intrigues against me within the party and parliamentary group behind my back. Others didn't like my "substantive positions" on certain issues.
“We must remain broadly positioned as the SPD Brandenburg”I would like to say: My policies corresponded exactly to the coalition agreement we unanimously adopted here together. And to the agreements with the districts that are part of this agreement. Anything else is untrue. I fear that if this approach to one another becomes the norm, the SPD Brandenburg is headed for difficult times.
I believe the SPD must be open to debates that concern people in the country. Otherwise, our social roots could become even more entrenched. We've been experiencing the worrying narrowing of the party's opinion corridors and the replacement of discussions with denunciations for some time now – key words are the coronavirus, Ukraine, the way we deal with the AfD, or even the energy transition. If we no longer conduct these debates with decency, that doesn't mean they're no longer happening. They're happening in the country – but no longer here.
A while ago, Mike Schubert called me. I was very pleased. Mike and I represent two very different directions within our party; we often disagree on issues. His defeat and my resignation have nothing to do with each other; the timing is purely coincidental. We both played a role in the respective course of events. We know that. But it's not just outside observers who are asking what the almost simultaneous departure of two such different figures might mean for the future of the Brandenburg Party. We've discussed this.
We both believe that we, the SPD Brandenburg, must maintain a broad base if we want to continue to be successful across the state. And we will continue to engage in dialogue.
“Some things belong in politics, some don’t”Dear comrades, you haven't always had it easy with me. And I haven't always had it easy with some of you. Some things are part of politics; some aren't. I'll reflect on this and that this summer and take time for myself.
I want to fulfill my mandate as a member of the state parliament and participate constructively in the work. Sometimes even critically. We have jointly decided on this coalition, and I want to do my part to make it a success.
I will not be attending our party conference in Cottbus. This is not possible after recent events. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to bid you farewell as deputy state chair. I wish you a successful party conference with positive resolutions. Because it's about Brandenburg. With best Social Democratic greetings.
Katrin Lange"
Berliner-zeitung
