Jens Spahn: CDU wants to quickly appoint successor to Jens Spahn

After Jens Spahn withdrew from the chairmanship of the CDU and CSU parliamentary group, a successor should be proposed and elected quickly. According to information from ZEIT, the federal executive board of the CDU and the party leaders of the federal states want to clarify the important personnel details in the coming days.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that he would make a proposal for a new appointment to the parliamentary group chairmanship in coordination with the CSU: “The procedure and schedule will now be coordinated with the committees of the party and the parliamentary group.” The CDU presidium is scheduled to discuss on Monday.

The head of the Chancellery, Thorsten Frei (CDU), is considered a possible successor to Spahn. He is an experienced parliamentarian: Frei was parliamentary managing director under Merz as parliamentary group leader and opposition leader in the last legislative period. He knows the leadership work in the parliamentary group and was already in discussion for the position after the 2025 federal election.

Hoffmann takes over the official duties

The head of the CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Alexander Hoffmann, is to temporarily take over the official duties as Union parliamentary group leader. The group remains capable of making decisions and acting, said Hoffmann.

The post of Union faction leader is one of the most influential within the governing coalition. He holds the MPs together behind the government’s course and is the central contact in parliament for the Chancellery and coalition partners.

Extraordinary parliamentary group meeting before the summer break?

A new boss can only be officially appointed by election at a parliamentary group meeting. The first regular group meeting after the summer break would not be until September 8th.

On Sunday Merz will be a guest in the ZDF summer interview. The discussion about Spahn that has been going on for days should obviously be ended before this appearance. The CDU also believes that haste was necessary because of the ongoing election campaigns in Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.