In addition to the election of Thorsten Frei (CDU) as the new party chairman, the attack on the Christopher Street Day in Berlin was reportedly a major topic of discussion during the CDU/CSU Union faction’s special session in the Bundestag this Wednesday. This was learned by our editorial team from participants present on the afternoon.
The former party leader, Jens Spahn (CDU)-whose resignation necessitated the immediate election of a successor and ultimately a cabinet reshuffle-was among 23 Union members who were absent from the gathering.
During the faction meeting, which unusually took place in the main plenary hall of the Bundestag, Merz, Frei, and Söder reportedly criticized Spahn’s handling of recent events in their speeches. However, the need for discussion seemed to exceed what had been initially planned; a press conference scheduled for one hour after the faction session began was postponed indefinitely.
The election of Frei itself proceeded smoothly: he secured a majority approval rating of 91.9 percent, surpassing Spahn’s figures. Spahn had received 91.3 percent in his first election as faction chair a year ago, but his re-election in May had only achieved 86.5 percent.
