Chancellor Friedrich Merz has made radical personnel changes in his party and government. This is probably his last chance to return Germany to the path of economic growth, believes Dirk Emmerich.
Few could have imagined that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz would act so decisively. At the beginning of the week, Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) found itself on the brink of a deep crisis after Jens Spahn was forced to resign as chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary faction over information related to the birth of his child in the United States with the help of a surrogate mother.
Surrogacy is prohibited in Germany, but Spahn simply ignored this ban (editor's note: the CDU has repeatedly stated its position against this practice; Spahn himself has spoken out against it in the past). Probably driven by his self-confidence and carelessness, Jens Spahn apparently thought that he could simply wait out the scandal and avoid the consequences for his political career.
The conservative leadership also initially seemed to seriously underestimate the scale of the possible damage. The party and the government were threatened by weeks of exhausting debates on moral and ethical issues, capable of paralyzing all their activities. This could even overshadow the course of the election campaign for the parliamentary elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the far-right "Alternative for Germany" (AfD), according to sociological surveys, is currently confidently leading.
Merz did not need a new crisis
It seems that Friedrich Merz has understood all this in recent days. He definitely does not need a new crisis. That is why the chancellor decided to take advantage of the scandal surrounding Jens Spahn and went on the offensive, trying to turn the situation in his favor with the decisive steps he is now taking.
One thing can be said for sure: Merz and Spahn were never an ideal political tandem anyway. As chairman of the CDU/CSU faction in the Bundestag, Spahn undoubtedly proved to be a strong negotiator and skillful political player in the conditions of the complex coalition alliance with the Social Democrats. However, he repeatedly took independent steps that caused dissatisfaction among both deputies and the Chancellor.
And now it has become clear that Spahn has underestimated the fundamental values of his party - the issues of the role of the family and the dignity of human life. These are precisely the key positions of the conservative worldview of the CDU. Now Merz is trying to eliminate this systemic flaw through personnel changes at the top of the party.
The new distribution of powers in the CDU leadership
Merz has already made changes in three key units of his power structure - and these steps go far beyond simply overcoming the consequences of the scandal caused by Spahn's actions.
The chairman of the parliamentary faction of the CDU/CSU becomes one of the closest confidants of the Chancellor - Thorsten Frei, who is excellent at navigating all the subtleties of the life of the faction. Merz is counting on him to be able to keep the faction in the desired direction, combining the ability to reach agreements with the necessary firmness.
According to many, in his previous post - head of the Federal Chancellor's Office, Frei was too soft and often did not cope with his role as a connecting link with the partner in the ruling coalition - the Social Democratic Party. Now this post has been taken by Nina Warken - for the first time in history, the chancellor's office will be headed by a woman. Merz has known her for a long time and, announcing the appointment, called Warken his – main support–. Now she faces the task of restoring the deadlocked cooperation with her coalition partner. Until now, she was the health minister.
The third participant in the personnel changes is Carsten Linemann, who until now held the post of general secretary of the CDU. He will replace Nina Warken at the head of the Ministry of Health - one of the most problematic departments. As a representative of the liberal economic wing of the party, Linemann may turn out to be exactly the energetic manager that Merz needs to carry out painful but necessary reforms.
The personnel changes may not end there: tensions are also growing in the Ministry of Transport, and Friedrich Merz is increasingly dissatisfied with the lack of tangible results in the work of the department.
What is happening in Berlin these days is probably the last chance to finally give the shaky coalition government the long-promised momentum needed to put Germany on the path to economic growth.
Merz has set the bar extremely high
Friedrich Merz intends to regain his right to set the tone in the public debate. He wants to close the "Span" chapter as soon as possible. The rest of the summer must not be marked by moral and ethical disputes from which the AfD can once again benefit politically. Merz's plan is as follows: from September, public attention must be redirected from the scandals to the reforms being implemented by the government.
Merz has set the bar extremely high for himself. However, he had little choice: never before in German history has a sitting federal chancellor enjoyed such low support. If the current personnel reorganization fails, the end of this government is approaching, and the AfD will continue to gain strength in public opinion polls. Incidentally, "Alternative for Germany" is already the leading political force in the country.
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Dirk Emmerich, a correspondent for the German television channels n-tv and RTL, has lived and worked in Moscow and Washington for many years; he was a correspondent for n-tv in Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and other countries engulfed in military conflicts.
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This text expresses the opinion of the author and may not coincide with the positions of the Bulgarian editorial office and DW as a whole.