German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to announce a cabinet reshuffle on Friday following the sudden resignation of senior party figure Jens Spahn, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Spahn stepped down last Saturday after it emerged that he had welcomed a baby through a surrogate mother in the United States, a decision that conflicted with his party’s long-standing opposition to surrogacy.
According to sources, Health Minister Nina Warken is expected to become head of Merz’s chancellery, replacing Thorsten Frei.
Frei, a close ally of Merz who has been overseeing government coordination from the chancellery, is likely to succeed Spahn as leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary bloc.
Meanwhile, CDU secretary-general Carsten Linnemann is expected to replace Warken as Germany’s health minister.
The proposed changes have yet to be finalised, with discussions continuing on Thursday evening.
“It’s not a done deal yet,” one source told Reuters.
Separately, Handelsblatt reported that CDU lawmaker Philipp Amthor could also join the chancellery as minister of state responsible for relations between the federal government and Germany’s 16 states.
Spahn, once viewed as a potential rival to Merz for the party leadership, resigned amid controversy over his use of surrogacy, an issue that has sparked debate within the conservative CDU.
