Merkz considers government reshuffle after Spahn's surrogate scandal

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated on Sunday that he may reshuffle the government after Jens Spahn, leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) parliamentary group, resigned. Spahn stepped down after it emerged that he and his partner used a surrogate mother abroad, a practice illegal in Germany. The CDU opposes legalizing surrogacy, leading to accusations of double standards against Spahn.

In an interview with public broadcaster ZDF, Merz said the incident could be a reason to reconsider the composition of the federal government, emphasizing it was a possibility rather than a concrete plan. When asked about his chief of staff Torsten Frei, whom ZDF mentioned as a potential successor, Merz declined to confirm any names. However, promoting Frei would create another high-level vacancy.

Merz refrained from personally defending Spahn, stating he had not expected such widespread outrage. According to Merz, Spahn informed the party about the child's birth about ten days ago and asked for it to be kept secret, which Merz did. Merz noted that Spahn informed the party "very, very late," and by Saturday the reputational damage to the party had become obvious, prompting action.

German media reported on Saturday that Merz had asked Spahn to resign. When asked if he felt betrayed, Merz simply responded that he did not want to assess that publicly, considering the matter closed, and thanked Spahn for his work on recent coalition reforms. According to ZDF, the CDU leadership will discuss Spahn's successor in the coming days.