Following the resignation of Jens Spahn, the CDU faction leader, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has indicated that a cabinet reshuffle cannot be ruled out. In a Sunday ZDF summer interview, Merz suggested that the change “could be an opportunity to reconsider the composition of the federal government,” though he stressed that the comment was hypothetical. Regarding Thorsten Frei, the CDU administration chief who is frequently mentioned as a potential successor to Spahn, Merz stated that he did not know who had designated Frei as a “top candidate,” admitting that he was hearing this information for the first time. However, Merz also did not preclude Frei from being the eventual choice.
Merz further mentioned that Spahn’s succession within the party committees would be discussed in the coming days. Regarding Spahn’s departure, Merz noted that Spahn had informed the party and faction leadership about his fatherhood “very late.” He commented, “If we had had time, we could have discussed this calmly, but we did not have the time.”
Spahn resigned from his position as faction leader yesterday. His announcement of his fatherhood provoked massive criticism because he and his partner reportedly utilized an overseas surrogate mother, despite Spahn having previously campaigned in Germany to maintain the ban on surrogacy models.
