Jens Spahn as parliamentary group leader-he is already looking at the Merz succession

Jens Spahn was considered the X factor in the CDU personnel table. For him it was about climbing to the center of power or a consolation price. Now Friedrich Merz has apparently decided: Spahn is getting the absolute top job in the new alliance. The 44-year-old is said to become the Union faction. The CSU has also agreed to the plan. The ex-health minister only has to be chosen.

Merz thus uses Spahn to the central switching point of the coalition. The parliamentary group leader organizes the cooperation with the coalition partner, defends the Chancellor in parliament, organizes majorities and money for government policy. In other words: Friedrich Merz is now dependent on Jens Spahn – more than anyone else. He needs its unconditional loyalty. “Of all things!” Some groan in the party.

There were and are doubts about Jens Spahn’s loyalty in the CDU. Influent CDU people have warned Friedrich Merz before Spahn. The games too often on your own account, change his political figure depending on the mood. And then there was the latest AfD debate. The ratio of Spahn to the SPD is also considered broken (not only for this reason): there you don’t trust Spahn – unlike other conservatives such as Alexander Dobrindt or Thorsten. Spahn will have to do a lot of work so that the coalition can cope.

Maybe Merz couldn’t get past him at all. Spahn is considered extremely hardworking, as an excellent networker, strong negotiator – and he is experienced by government. In the coalition negotiations, he appeared in almost all important negotiating groups. He pulled red lines in it, partly also towards the boss. “That doesn’t work, Friedrich!”, Spahn Merz is said to have replied in a large group. It shows all of his self -confidence – and gives an premonition for the future.

With the choice, Friedrich Merz makes a decision that will go beyond his own chancellery. The duo from Spahn and Secretary General Carsten Linnemann will be the new conservative power center of the CDU, supported by the parliamentary group and party headquarters. The two men form the opposite pole to the more liberal camp led by NRW Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst and other state bosses. So far, Wüst has been the clear second man in the party. Now the 69 -year -old Merz is calling for a real competition for his successor.

Some fears in the party: With the choice of parliamentary group leader, this successor to Friedrich Merz could face earlier than the designated Chancellor could be. And not only in four years. This is not a resentment against Spahn, his own people and long -time companions trust him. Also explicitly those who rose a quick end of the black-red coalition and have long since squinted towards AfD. Spahn will have to prove that he is not a insult, but can bring the country and party calm and stability. It is the only chance of the Union against extreme rights.

If the coalition fails, then I’m gone. So Merz said it recently. What Jens Spahn wants was clear to everyone at school: becoming chancellor. As the leader of the parliamentary group, he will soon get closer to this goal.