The German Bundestag has voted to remove all three elections for judges of the Federal Constitutional Court from the agenda. The motion, passed on Friday, secured a majority of parliamentary representatives.
The parliamentary director of the SPD faction, Dirk Wiese, likened the situation to the “heightened debates” surrounding constitutional judges in the United States and Poland. He stated a “campaign of harassment” has been directed against candidate Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf in recent days.
Bernd Baumann, parliamentary director of the AfD faction, described the move as demonstrating “absolute instability” within the governing coalition. His faction opposes the postponement of the elections, urging the Union (CDU/CSU) to clearly declare its position.
Britta Haßelmann, leader of the Green Party faction, primarily attributed the chaotic situation to the perceived “inability” of Union faction leader Jens Spahn. She characterized the events as an unprecedented setback regarding the selection of constitutional judges.
Heidi Reichinnek, leader of the Left Party faction, emphasized the responsibility of parliamentarians in ensuring the integrity of the Federal Constitutional Court. She stressed the need for a clear parliamentary majority to appoint the judges, accusing Spahn of engaging in “partisan power games” and aligning himself with the AfD by failing to explore alternative majority coalitions for the proposed candidates. Reichinnek stated that the Union’s actions risked placing these individuals and democratic institutions in the hands of far-right elements.
Earlier on Friday, the Union informed the SPD of its intention to postpone the election of Brosius-Gersdorf but still proceed with votes on its own candidate, Günter Spinner and the SPD’s nominee, Ann-Katrin Kaufhold. The SPD ultimately rejected this split approach. Steffen Bilger (CDU) expressed regret over the outcome.
The Union’s stated justification for the postponement shifted from previously criticized policy positions, such as its stance on abortion rights, to newly surfaced allegations of plagiarism.
The SPD had proposed Brosius-Gersdorf for the position. Despite criticism from the Union, Friedrich Merz, leader of the CDU, had confirmed earlier in the week within the Bundestag that he could reconcile his conscience with her election. Other prominent Union politicians had also recently publicly advocated for her appointment.
