Jessica Rosenthal tweets a lot. In the past few days she has mainly written about the war in Ukraine. That her thoughts are with all “those who died tonight, those who spent the night in fear, those who are suffering from this terrible war”. She added: “None of this must become normal for us. This war is cruel and barbaric.”
The 29-year-old has been in the Bundestag for the SPD since 2021, she is one of the many young SPD wild ones who have been newly elected to parliament. Jessica Rosenthal is also Juso chairwoman and is considered to be on the left and much more specific than Scholz, many say about the young politician. So it’s not surprising that she has now spoken out about what is currently dividing her party. In addition to the displeasure that most in the SPD, including parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich, did not know until the government statement by Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday that the Bundeswehr was to be equipped with a special fund of 100 billion euros.
She will not support that, she now told the Süddeutsche Zeitung. And added: “It’s no use sinking more billions of euros into a black hole”. She believes that funds for the Bundeswehr have so far been used ineffectively. On Tuesday morning, Secretary General Kevin Kühnert assured that the parliamentary group was united behind the Chancellor’s decision to upgrade the Bundeswehr.
Jessica Rosenthal, however, gives up and thus shakes – at least a little – the unity of the party, which has been demonstratively presented for two years, as it should be for a Juso chairwoman. Her predecessor was Kevin Kühnert, she replaced him in 2021, he was still rebellious at the time and railed against the grand coalition.
Jessica Rosenthal was born in Hamelin and has three siblings. Her mother was a single parent, but her daughter studied in Bonn and worked as a teacher at a comprehensive school in the former capital before entering the Bundestag. She also joined the SPD in the belief that it was a peace party that prioritized equal opportunities, justice and social security, she often says. The war is not only a crucial test for them, but for many in the SPD. Rosenthal said so, but she also says about herself that she is not made of sugar. Through politics, she learned to endure and take a lot.