TMCnet News
Head of Germany's SPD resigns(UPI Top Stories Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)The head of Germany's Social Democratic Party announced his resignation Monday, saying he is following his doctor's advice. Matthias Platzeck has been chairman of the party for only five months. He is to be replaced by Kurt Beck, state premier of Rhineland-Palatinate, Deutsche Welle reported. Both Platzeck and Beck pledged that the grand coalition with the conservative party headed by Chancellor Angela Merkel will continue. Platzeck was elected to the party leadership with the highest margin ever. Beck was his vice chairman, also elected overwhelmingly. The chairman has suffered from a number of health problems, including a sudden hearing loss his doctors said could be caused by stress and a bout of influenza. At a news conference Monday, he said he also had circulatory problems and had gone through what he called a nervous breakdown. |