According to a report by European News TV on July 24, after Jens Spahn, the chairman of the German Union Party (CDU/CSU) in the Federal Diet, resigned due to an affair involving surrogate pregnancy, German Chancellor Merz announced a major reshuffle of the cabinet. It is widely believed that Merz is trying to 'infuse vitality' into the government through personnel changes in order to prepare for upcoming local elections.
Schaper recently announced that he obtained a child in the United States through surrogacy. Since German law prohibits surrogacy, the CDU, where Schaper belongs, has always opposed it. Schaper himself has also publicly opposed surrogacy, and this matter has sparked significant controversy. Under external pressure, Schaper sent a letter to members of the Union Party's parliamentary group on the 18th, deciding to resign from the position of party group chairman.
This political turmoil provided an opportunity for Mertz to reorganize her cabinet. On the 24th, Mertz announced that current Health Minister Nina Walke would serve as a minister in the Federal Chancellery. Current CDU party secretary general Carsten Linnemann will take over as Health Minister, and current State Secretary for Digitalization and National Modernization, Philip Amthor, will serve as State Minister responsible for cooperation between the federal government and the states.
Mertz said that he has reached an agreement with the chairman of the Union Party, Marcus Zeder, to nominate the current minister of the prime minister’s office, Torsten Frey, as the party’s spokesperson in the Bundestag.
Mertz stated, “We want to create a government filled with enthusiasm and drive, while also reflecting the diversity of our society and political structure. We are a reform-oriented government, and we will continue to practice this principle.” He added that further personnel changes will be made by the federal government, and these decisions may take several days or even longer to finalize.
German Chancellor Merz IC Photo
German Radio SWR revealed that German Transport Minister Patrick Schniedr was also set to be dismissed, but Merz did not announce this decision at the press conference on the 24th. It is said that this was because Merz wanted to appoint CDU member Fritz Kittel to the post of Transport Minister, but Kittel himself refused to accept the position.
According to the Associated Press, as the ruling coalition led by Mertz failed to fulfill its election promise of 'turning Germany's economy around', the German economy remains stagnant. The dissatisfaction among German voters towards the ruling coalition is growing. Now, Mertz's support rate has dropped to its lowest point, and the right-wing party ‘Germany's Choice’, which was excluded by the mainstream German political parties, has gained more support from voters.
A poll published by German TV channel 1 in early July showed that only 13% of respondents were satisfied with Metsch's performance as a leader, while over 80% of respondents were dissatisfied with him. Nationwide in Germany, the support for Metsch's Union Party has dropped to 22%, with the German Choice Party ranking first with a support rate of 27%.
Analysts generally believe that Mertz may want to use this personnel change to 'infuse vitality' into the federal government, in order to save his political career and cope with a series of upcoming important local elections.
Germany will hold three local elections in September this year. According to current polls, the Alternative Party is expected to win with a significant advantage in the election in Saxony-Anhalt on September 6th, possibly winning the governor's position for the first time. The Alternative Party is also likely to perform well in the elections in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Berlin later in September.
The Alternative for Germany has taken advantage of the political turmoil within the governing coalition to challenge it. The co-chairperson of the Alternative, Alice Weidel, criticized that Merz's cabinet reshuffle caused "more chaos." She accused the Merz government of focusing only on its own affairs, ignoring the various problems in Germany.
German University of Trier political science professor Uwe Jun analyzed: “Mertes tried to show the outside world that this coalition government has the ability to take action, and he, as prime minister, also has the ability to act. He wants to put the German government on a faster and more effective path.”
