Bundestag: Spahn new head of the Union faction

The Union faction in the Bundestag chose the former Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) with a result of over 90 percent as the successor to Friedrich Merz as the new chairman. According to the faction, he received 91.3 percent of the vote, although the Union does not take into account abstentions.

According to information from the German Press Agency from participant circles, 197 votes were submitted. 178 MPs voted yes, 17 with no, 2 MPs abstained. Overall, CDU and CSU have 208 MPs in parliament. Calculated abstentions, Spahn therefore received 90.35 percent.

The previous Vice Chair Steffen Bilger was elected as the new first parliamentary managing director. The 46-year-old lawyer from Ludwigsburg follows Thorsten Frei, who is to become head of the Chancellor. Bilger received 93.5 percent of the vote after Union bill.

The 44 -year -old Spahn has been in the Bundestag for more than 20 years. Most recently, after the lost election in 2021, he was one of the deputy group leader in the Union’s opposition period. He was particularly involved in economic policy. As a health minister in the Corona crisis and previously as a parliamentary Finance Secretary, he gained government experience. The power-conscious Münsterländer in Corona pandemic was criticized for the purchase of allegedly overpriced protective masks.

Merz had received 98 percent in February

CDU boss Merz is to be elected Chancellor in the Bundestag this Tuesday. Together with CSU boss Markus Söder, he had proposed Spahn as the successor in the office of group leader. In mid -February 2022, Merz received 89.5 percent in his first election. With the confirmation required according to the statute, he received 87 percent seven months later. In his new election immediately after the Bundestag election, 98 percent of MPs voted for Merz on February 25.