Parliamentarians from the conservative bloc of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz elected Thorsten Frei as the new leader of their parliamentary group on Wednesday.
The group announced the voting results on the X platform, stating: “Thorsten Frei has been elected as our new parliamentary group leader. We wish him great success in his new role and look forward to working together.” Members of the conservative bloc, which includes the Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria, cut short their summer vacations to elect Frei. His candidacy received support from 91.9% of the deputies.
The new leader previously served as the Head of the Federal Chancellery and is a key figure in the conservative bloc. He succeeds Jens Spahn, who resigned amid controversies surrounding the use of a surrogate mother to have a child.
Personnel changes in the government
Spahn’s resignation prompted Merz to initiate broader personnel changes within the government. Earlier on Wednesday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier appointed three new ministers from the CDU, as proposed by the Chancellor.
Former CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann took over the Ministry of Health, succeeding Nina Warkentin, who became the head of the Federal Chancellery. Steffen Bilger was appointed Minister of Transport, replacing Patrick Schnieder.
Before the appointments, Steinmeier, in his speech supporting Merz, stated: “Government reshuffles are not uncommon in the history of the Federal Republic. Personnel changes have always occurred during the current legislative term.”
The new ministers have officially assumed their posts but still need to take the oath in the Bundestag — the German parliament. It was decided to postpone the oath until September, when parliament reconvenes for its first session after the summer recess. This decision was made to avoid recalling parliamentarians from their vacations and to prevent additional expenses that could draw public criticism ahead of important regional elections.
Source: Politico
