Europe Remembers How to Resign

Jens Spahn resigned last weekend as leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag. The immediate trigger was the debate surrounding the birth of a child to him and his husband through a surrogate in the United States. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) continues to support Germany's ban on surrogacy, and the conflict between party policy and his personal life became too great.

Spahn is not, however, leaving politics. He is retaining his Bundestag seat and therefore remains a legislator. What he has given up is the leadership of the largest parliamentary group in Germany and the influence over the Union parties' parliamentary agenda that comes with it.

For decades, a clean resignation was regarded as part of political accountability. Politicians who lost the confidence of their own party, could no longer explain a scandal or had lost the authority of their office accepted the consequences. Today, resignations have become the exception in many countries. Politicians survive election defeats, criminal investigations and months of political crises while their parties hope public outrage will eventually subside. That is why this year's developments stand out.

Since January, senior politicians across Europe have stepped down from office. Their reasons range from criminal allegations and internal party opposition to carefully planned political career moves.

The first came in Bulgaria, where President Rumen Radev resigned for tactical reasons. He announced his departure on 19 January, one year before the scheduled end of his term. The Constitutional Court confirmed the move four days later. Radev subsequently founded the Progressive Bulgaria alliance, won 44.6% of the vote in April and secured a parliamentary majority.

In Spain, José Luis Ábalos resigned from the Congress of Deputies on 28 January after initially resisting calls to step down. Quite literally: the former transport minister and one-time organizational secretary of the governing Socialist Party was already being held in pre-trial detention. He was under investigation in the corruption scandal involving public procurement contracts and the purchase of protective masks during the coronavirus pandemic.

A few days later, Slovak national security adviser Miroslav Lajcak resigned after his correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein was made public. The former foreign minister denied any wrongdoing and said he wanted to prevent the affair from being used against Prime Minister Robert Fico.

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Offices Have Consequences

Portugal's Interior Minister Maria Lúcia Amaral resigned on 11 February. The opposition and affected communities accused the authorities of responding too slowly and inadequately to Storm Kristin. The storm caused extensive damage and temporarily left tens of thousands of households without electricity.

On 25 February, Rachida Dati left the French government. The culture minister wanted to devote herself fully to her campaign for mayor of Paris. President Emmanuel Macron accepted her resignation and endorsed her candidacy. A resignation as a career move, so to speak.

In Italy, pressure on Giorgia Meloni's government ended three political careers within two days. Junior Justice Minister Andrea Delmastro resigned on 24 March after his previous involvement in a restaurant business became public. His former business partner was the daughter of a man convicted of links to the Camorra.

On the same day, Giusi Bartolozzi resigned as chief of staff at the Justice Ministry. She had drawn criticism during the campaign for judicial reform with sharp attacks on the judiciary. Meloni accepted both resignations immediately after her government lost a referendum on the reform.

A day later, Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè followed. She was facing several legal proceedings linked to her former businesses, including a trial over allegedly false company accounts. Santanchè had rejected calls to resign for months. Only after the prime minister publicly urged her to step down did she leave office.

The Austrian People's Party (OVP) lost its parliamentary leader, August Woginger, on 4 May. A court sentenced him to a suspended seven-month prison term and a fine of €43,200 ($49,370) after convicting him of abuse of office. Woginger resigned as leader of the parliamentary group but retained his seat and announced he would appeal. The ruling is not yet final, making the resignation largely symbolic.

Several of these politicians remained members of parliament or were already preparing for their next political role. Even so, they relinquished offices whose authority had been damaged. That limited step alone has become remarkable in a political culture that often mistakes endurance for leadership.

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Starmer Leaves Downing Street

The year's most significant political resignation came in the United Kingdom. Keir Starmer announced on 22 June that he would step down as prime minister and leader of the Labour Party. Less than two years earlier, he had led Labour to a decisive election victory. Growing opposition within his own party ultimately deprived him of the support needed to remain in office.

Andy Burnham was elected Labour leader on 17 July and subsequently succeeded Starmer as prime minister. The former mayor of Greater Manchester became Britain's seventh prime minister in a decade.

The Spanish affair also entered a new phase in June. Following the resignation of Ábalos, Spain's lower house adopted a non-binding resolution calling on Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to resign. The motion passed by 177 votes to 171. Sánchez nevertheless remained in office.

That contrast defines politics today. Losing a parliamentary vote, seeing close associates convicted or suffering a collapse in public authority no longer automatically leads to resignation. Governments increasingly treat calls to step down as temporary political controversies. Despite a series of high-profile resignations, Europe has not yet returned to the culture of political accountability.