Sources close to the CDU have suggested that Thorsten Frei, the chief of the Chancellor’s Office, may take over Jens Spahn as the head of the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag. According to reporting by “Bild”, Federal Chancellor and CDU leader Friedrich Merz and CSU Chairman Markus Söder intend to nominate Frei for the position during a faction meeting on Wednesday. The formal election is scheduled to take place the following Wednesday in a special session of the Union parliamentary group. Internal discussions are still underway regarding who will succeed Frei as Minister of the Chancellery.
“Bild” also stated that Merz and Söder plan to discuss the next steps with the faction leadership during a telephone conference at 3 PM. Furthermore, they suggest that a special session of the Bundestag might not be required. Frei, a lawyer who has been in the Bundestag since 2013, is considered highly regarded and popular within the faction. During the “Traffic Light” government, he served as the First Parliamentary Secretary under then-opposition leader Merz. Spahn had recently stepped down on Saturday following intense public criticism related to his fatherhood, which involved using a surrogate in the United States.
