Overview
- Uta Francisco Dos Santos, the SPD’s lead pick for Berlin-Mitte, agreed Friday to withdraw after the district party leadership asked her to step down.
- Reports this week showed she campaigned for months while largely absent since mid-2024 from a senior post in Berlin’s Finance Senate, where she is paid at the E15 level.
- Her Finance Senate role involves preparing state government meetings and liaising with the parliament, and colleagues had taken on those tasks during her prolonged absence.
- Through a law firm, she said the administration placed her on leave against her will and that a legal dispute and private strain led to a psychological illness, while the finance senator’s office declined to discuss personnel or health matters.
- Party officials now must choose a new lead candidate for the high-profile district ahead of Berlin’s September 20, 2026 vote, as critics question the ethics of campaigning while on extended leave from a taxpayer-funded post.