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Merz to propose Schweitzer as labour minister to Steinmeier on Monday

Chancellor Merz said he will propose Alexander Schweitzer to the president as labour minister on Monday. The government signalled the pension reform bill is unlikely to be ready in October.

TWN newsroom1 min read
Alexander Schweitzer (archive image)

Archive image · Photo: Olaf Kosinsky / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de (cropped and resized)

Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he will propose to President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday that former Rhineland-Palatinate premier Alexander Schweitzer be appointed labour minister, replacing Bärbel Bas, who resigned earlier in the day. Merz said he was following the Social Democrats' nomination and wanted Schweitzer to move pending legislation swiftly through cabinet. "I regret her personal decision, but I respect it," Merz said of Bas.

Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said the pension reform would proceed quickly and that Schweitzer brought "great expertise", but since no draft exists yet it may not be ready in October, ZDF reported. The CSU had demanded a draft pension bill this month.

Schweitzer, a 53-year-old lawyer, served as state labour and social affairs minister and was premier from 2024 until losing the March 2026 state election. He is an SPD deputy leader and has publicly criticised Merz. The SPD plans to elect its entire leadership at a party congress around the turn of the year.

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