General secretary of Germany's Social Democrats resigns over health

The general secretary of Germany's governing Social Democrats (SPD), Kevin Kühnert, announced his resignation on Monday, citing health issues.

The 35-year-old politician announced his decision to step down in a letter to party members and the public, adding that he would also not run as a member of parliament in the national election next year.

"For the foreseeable future, I need to use the energy that would be necessary for my office and an election campaign to recover," he said, adding that the decision hurt him because he put his "heart and soul into [his] political work."

The SPD is also the party of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who governs in a coalition with the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats.

Kühnert has been general secretary of the SPD since 2021, when he was also elected as a member of the Bundestag. Before that, he became well known as the chairman of the SPD's youth organization, the Young Socialists.