CDU/CSU parliamentary group: former Merz-Widersacher Spahn is said to be parliamentary group leader

Under Chancellor Angela Merkel, he was Minister of Health – now he should keep the Union faction in the Bundestag on line for Friedrich Merz: Jens Spahn. The 44 -year -old Westphalian has been in parliament for more than 20 years. In the Union’s opposition period after the lost Bundestag election in 2021, he was one of the deputy parliamentary group leader. He was particularly involved in economic policy.

As a health minister in the Corona crisis and previously as a parliamentary state secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Spahn gained some government experience. When negotiating the coalition agreement with the SPD, he sat in the business working group. This triggered speculation that he could become the new Federal Minister of Economics.

Candidature against Merz for the office of party leader

The CDU man has always won his constituency “Steinfurt I – Borken I” directly since 2002, in the recent federal election with almost 42 percent of the first votes. In the within the party, however, the trained bank clerk and political scientists did not fly the hearts. In December 2018, he drove the worst result in the three-way battle for Merkel’s succession at the CDU tip with 157 votes-behind Merz (392) and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (450 votes), who ultimately won the runoff election against Merz.

When the CDU was looking for a successor for the hapless Kramp-Karrenbauer just two years later in January 2021, Spahn did not run himself. He supported NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet, who ensured that Merz was again behind. At the subsequent election of the deputy CDU chairman, Spahn in turn achieved the worst result.

Can future union and SPD parliamentary group leaders?

As CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader, Spahn will be responsible for the relationship with the coalition partner SPD. In German parliamentary history there are almost legendary teams such as Volker Kauder (CDU) and Peter Struck (SPD), who undercut the coalition shop under Chancellor Merkel and even became friends.

Spahns could become the previous Bundestag president Bärbel BAS (SPD). You and Spahn would “have known each other for a long time,” Bas told the “Tagesspiegel”. And: “We have already argued and we have successfully fought projects together.”

Spahn once described his time as Federal Minister of Health during the Corona Years 2020 and 2021 as “so far the greatest task of my life”. His sentence “we will have to forgive each other a lot.” A year ago, the CDU man advocated dealing with the Corona policy by a Bundestag’s inquiry commission. To this day, it has not occurred. As the leader of the parliamentary group, Spahn would have the opportunity to initiate this processing.

Unpleasant questions about the mask dispute threaten

However, he should be asked unpleasant questions. He is accused of ordering far too many masks too much too high prices when Federal Minister of Health. “We had to decide in need,” said Spahn justifying a mask dispute in a Bundestag debate in a Bundestag debate in June last year.

This could still catch up with him because procedures with a billion dollar dispute are still pending. It was only in July last year that the Cologne Higher Regional Court sentenced the federal government to pay around 86 million euros plus interest. The case now lies with the Federal Court of Justice.

The latest advance of the AfD met with criticism

Most recently, Spahn had triggered a violent controversy with the advance of dealing with the AfD on organizational questions in the Bundestag as well as other opposition parties. In the “Bild” newspaper, he advocated treating the AfD in the event of processes in parliament, procedures in the rules of procedure, committees and consideration of minority and majority rights like any other opposition party. Before the constitutional protection was announced, this was that the AfD was to be classified as secure right -wing extremist.