
3 days · 2 summary articles
CDU and CSU appoint Thorsten Frei as new Union faction leader in German Bundestag
CDU parliamentary leader Spahn resigns after surrogacy controversy in US triggers German backlash
Thorsten Frei, the current Chief of the Chancellery, is set to become the new leader of the Union faction in the German Bundestag. The decision was made by Friedrich Merz, the leader of the CDU, and Markus Söder, the leader of the CSU. This comes after Jens Spahn resigned from his position due to criticism over using a surrogate mother in the USA, which is illegal in Germany and against his party's stance.
The official appointment of Thorsten Frei will take place through a vote in the faction next Wednesday. This decision follows discussions within the party bodies of the Union and the Bundestag faction. Friedrich Merz had announced that he would make a personnel proposal "relatively soon" after Spahn's resignation.
Thorsten Frei is returning to his previous role in federal politics. He served as the parliamentary manager under the then faction leader and opposition leader Friedrich Merz in the previous legislative period. The 52-year-old CDU politician from the Black Forest was already considered for the faction leadership after the 2025 Bundestag elections. However, Merz brought his close confidante into the Chancellery instead.
Jens Spahn resigned over the weekend following growing internal party pressure. He and his husband Daniel Funke announced that they had become parents with the help of a surrogate mother in the USA. This was criticized because surrogacy is prohibited in Germany, and Spahn's party clearly opposes legalization. Spahn himself had also spoken out against it in the past.
The parliamentary manager of the SPD Bundestag faction, Dirk Wiese, praised the nomination of Frei. "I have worked very well with Thorsten Frei in the past," Wiese said in Berlin on Wednesday.
It is still unclear whether there will be further changes in the cabinet following the replacement of the Chief of the Chancellery. Several names are being discussed as potential successors to Frei in the Chancellery, including the deputy faction leader Günther Frings, the parliamentary manager Hendrik Hoppenstedt, and Nathanael Liminski, a confidante of the Minister President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst.
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