Ninth night of the US-Iran war: third US soldier dead, tanker ablaze in HormuzUkraine war: more than 400 drones on the Moscow region, Russia shells KyivPutin receives North Korea's foreign minister and thanks her for wartime supportAfter Spahn's resignation: conservative bloc seeks parliamentary leader, Merz mulls cabinet reshuffleAndy Burnham becomes British prime ministerHungary: Magyar wants chess legend Judit Polgar as presidentNetanyahu attacks New York mayor Mamdani after arrest threatThousands of Israelis march to the Gaza border and demand new settlementsTaiwan reports more Chinese ships, concern over Pacific supply routesOil above 90 dollars: Iran war weighs on currencies and stock marketsStudy: electric cars significantly cheaper since 2020, combustion engines slightly pricierEarnings in Germany rose 5.1 percent in 2025Europe's rearmament: raw-material dependence and dispute over the fighter-jet legacyChina's luxury tax and price pressure hurt German carmakersChina's AI offensive: IPOs, robots and maxed-out data centersAI skepticism on the markets: investors seek new favorites, chip worries growNinth night of the US-Iran war: third US soldier dead, tanker ablaze in HormuzUkraine war: more than 400 drones on the Moscow region, Russia shells KyivPutin receives North Korea's foreign minister and thanks her for wartime supportAfter Spahn's resignation: conservative bloc seeks parliamentary leader, Merz mulls cabinet reshuffleAndy Burnham becomes British prime ministerHungary: Magyar wants chess legend Judit Polgar as presidentNetanyahu attacks New York mayor Mamdani after arrest threatThousands of Israelis march to the Gaza border and demand new settlementsTaiwan reports more Chinese ships, concern over Pacific supply routesOil above 90 dollars: Iran war weighs on currencies and stock marketsStudy: electric cars significantly cheaper since 2020, combustion engines slightly pricierEarnings in Germany rose 5.1 percent in 2025Europe's rearmament: raw-material dependence and dispute over the fighter-jet legacyChina's luxury tax and price pressure hurt German carmakersChina's AI offensive: IPOs, robots and maxed-out data centersAI skepticism on the markets: investors seek new favorites, chip worries grow
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Narrative thread · 2 events

Spahn's resignation

Symbolic image

Jens Spahn (geboren 1980) ist ein CDU-Politiker, der von 2018 bis 2021 im Kabinett von Angela Merkel Bundesgesundheitsminister war und damit die deutsche Politik in der Anfangsphase der Corona-Pandemie mitprägte. Seit Mai 2025 ist er Vorsitzender der CDU/CSU-Bundestagsfraktion und übernahm dieses Amt von Friedrich Merz. Aus seiner Amtszeit als Gesundheitsminister stammt die sogenannte Maskenaffäre: Sein Ministerium beschaffte 2020 in kurzer Zeit Milliarden Schutzmasken zu teils stark überhöhten Preisen, wobei ein großer Teil ungenutzt blieb und der Bund später um Schadenersatzforderungen und Rechtsstreitigkeiten mit Lieferanten rang. Die Beschaffungspraxis und die Frage nach der politischen Verantwortung sind seither wiederholt Gegenstand parlamentarischer Aufarbeitung, etwa in Debatten des Bundestags und der Corona-Enquete-Kommission.

Wikipedia: Maskenaffäre (CDU/CSU)Deutscher Bundestag: Biografie Jens SpahnZDFheute: Debatte über Maskenbeschaffung

Timeline in detail

Monday, 20 July 2026Geopolitics

After Spahn's resignation: conservative bloc seeks parliamentary leader, Merz mulls cabinet reshuffle

A day after Jens Spahn's resignation as leader of the conservative parliamentary group, the CDU/CSU leadership is deliberating over his successor; Chancellor Merz does not rule out a cabinet reshuffle. Spahn fell over the debate on surrogacy. Until a decision is made, deputy group leaders Bilger and Hoffmann take over.

The conservative parliamentary group is searching for a successor after the surprise resignation of its chairman Jens Spahn; on Monday the presidium and group executive committee met in Berlin. Conservative voices such as Die Welt and the CDU member of parliament Mattfeldt (Cicero) press for a swift decision to spare the party damage, and see the timing as an opportunity for a cabinet reshuffle. Chancellor Friedrich Merz, in a ZDF summer interview, did not dismiss speculation about a reshuffle ('It could be an opportunity'). Left-leaning and liberal outlets such as the taz and Die Zeit read the fall as the end of a power player and partly rate the resignation as a chance for Merz to free himself of 'craftsmanship weaknesses.' The trigger was outrage over the surrogacy debate, in which the former minister Renate Kunast drew attention with the claim that Spahn and others wanted to create their 'own elite' via surrogate mothers; the taz criticizes surrogacy on principle as exploitation. According to Der Spiegel, several names are circulating as possible successors. The Berliner Zeitung accuses Merz of preferring, in the crisis, to talk about external adversities rather than lost trust.

Die WeltDie ZeittazSüddeutsche ZeitungHandelsblatt

Sunday, 19 July 2026GeopoliticsCDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Spahn resigns over surrogacy debate

CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Spahn resigns over surrogacy debate

Jens Spahn has resigned as chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group after his fatherhood via a surrogacy arrangement banned in Germany triggered a credibility debate. Chancellor Merz called the resignation unavoidable and is pressing for a swift succession. CSU regional group leader Hoffmann takes over on an interim basis.

Former federal health minister Jens Spahn, who has led the CDU/CSU parliamentary group since 2025, announced his resignation on Saturday in a letter to the group, a step that Chancellor Friedrich Merz had, according to Spiegel, demanded in an earlier phone call. The trigger was the debate over his child, born to a surrogate mother in the US; surrogacy is banned in Germany, and critics accused Spahn of double standards, since he had helped support such bans. The left-leaning taz called the resignation the only correct consequence, while conservative voices such as Cicero accused him of a lack of insight. Spiegel points to earlier affairs, including overpriced Covid mask deals and a villa purchase, and reads the resignation as one scandal too many. The Berliner Zeitung, by contrast, criticises the country for debating morality instead of solutions to demographic change. Internationally, the New York Times, the BBC and the Financial Times took up the case as a charge of hypocrisy against one of Merz's leading figures. For the black-red coalition, the loss of a group leader seen as an anchor of stability comes at an awkward moment, as Merz quickly looks for a successor.

tazCiceroDer SpiegelFinancial TimesNew York Times

Forecast · Assessment
  • Most likely60%

    Merz quickly names a successor, the personnel question settles down, and the coalition weathers the change without an open crisis.

  • Worst case20%

    A dispute over the succession and the loss of standing weigh lastingly on the CDU/CSU and the black-red coalition.

  • Best case20%

    The change gives Merz a chance for a liberating personnel move and strengthens the parliamentary group's capacity to act.