Chancellor Friedrich Merz is considering reshuffling his federal cabinet following the resignation of CDU/CSU faction leader Jens Spahn. "It could be an opportunity," Merz said in ZDF's "Sommerinterview." The frontrunner for the important post is seen as current chief of staff Thorsten Frei (CDU).
The Merz interview was set to air Sunday evening on "Berlin direkt." Merz declined to comment specifically on Frei's chances. "It could be an opportunity to rethink the composition of the federal government once again," the chancellor said, reaffirming his assessment of the consequences of Spahn's resignation.
Merz said he wanted to consult "over the next few days" on Spahn's successor. He noted that while the CDU/CSU faction is currently in its summer recess, it remains capable of acting. "We will make a proposal relatively soon, but we're not under time pressure right now," said the CDU chairman.
The 52-year-old Frei took over as chief of staff at the start of the current federal government in May of last year. In the previous legislative period, he served as the faction's parliamentary secretary. Should he become faction leader, a cabinet reshuffle would be all but mandatory.
Spahn had resigned after criticism over starting a family through surrogacy intensified sharply. According to Spahn, his husband is the biological father of the child, which was carried by a surrogate. Such arrangements are not permitted in Germany, the CDU had only recently reaffirmed its rejection of surrogacy.
Merz sharply criticized the outgoing faction leader on ZDF over how he had handled communication around the matter. He said Spahn had informed the CDU and the faction "very, very late." "If we had had time, we could have discussed this calmly, but we didn't have the time." Merz had already called the resignation "correct" and "unavoidable" on Saturday. "Credibility is the most valuable asset in politics."
Spahn had written in a resignation letter to the faction that his "personal happiness" was not compatible with his political office. He added: "My family means the most to me." Just on Friday, Spahn had shown a willingness to fight in a "Bild" podcast despite numerous calls for his resignation, announcing that he wanted the faction to decide on his future in September.
A phone call with Merz is believed to have played a decisive role in the swift resignation. The damage to the Union's credibility had become "abundantly clear" to him on Saturday, Merz said on ZDF, "and that's why we then acted." Merz declined to say whether he felt betrayed by Spahn, "the matter itself is closed."
CSU regional group leader Alexander Hoffmann is temporarily taking over the faction's business. Spahn's decision deserved "the utmost respect," Hoffmann said. SPD faction leader Matthias Miersch expressed similar sentiments, praising the close and trusting cooperation with Spahn within the coalition, though he did not comment on the substance of the surrogacy issue.
Daniel Peters, head of the CDU's regional association in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, said he was "relieved" that there would be a change at the top of the faction. He had been among the first Union politicians to call for Spahn's resignation. He said the step had been "unavoidable," something that had become clear to him through numerous conversations in recent days.
Politicians from the opposition described Spahn's resignation as "logical" and "overdue." "This wasn't just about a personal decision that contradicted his party's official position," said Green faction co-leaders Britta Haßelmann and Katharina Dröge. "Rather, all the scandals, poor decisions and leadership failures in office ultimately led to this point."
The Left Party said Spahn "should never have been allowed to become faction leader, given everything he botched as a minister." Anyone who holds political responsibility must "be measured by the same standards he demands of others," said faction leader Sören Pellmann. He said he now hoped for a faction leadership "who will finally steer the party away from its rightward course."
AfD leader Alice Weidel was also critical. "The fact that he is now circumventing a law he voted for himself has definitively destroyed his credibility," she wrote on X.
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