Dobrindt declines to comment on speculation about Spahn's successor – Union prepares personnel decisions

Spahn stepped down from the office of parliamentary group leader nearly two weeks ago, after it became known that he and his husband Daniel Funke had had a child through surrogacy in the USA. Since then, several names of potential successors have been circulating in Berlin. Dobrindt is among the most frequently mentioned candidates.

Merz and Söder coordinate

Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) said on Tuesday in Berlin that the coordination process within the Union parties and with the parliamentary group was still ongoing. He had scheduled another meeting with CSU leader Markus Söder. The goal, the Chancellor said on the sidelines of a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, was to then "submit a corresponding proposal to the parliamentary group in the near future."

Markus Söder said in Munich that he and Merz wanted to "exchange views thoroughly." He hoped that the joint proposal would "hopefully find broad approval." Söder also pointed out that the joint nomination right of the party leaders also applied to "other high-ranking offices that will take place in the autumn."

Federal presidential election in autumn

Merz and Söder were thereby also alluding to the succession of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. A decision on whom CDU/CSU and the SPD will field as candidates is expected in the autumn. Steinmeier's term ends in March 2027.

In the deliberations over the group leadership and the question of the federal presidency, several names are being discussed within the Union. Among possible candidates for the highest state office, the Bavarian Landtag president Ilse Aigner is mentioned within the CSU. For the group chairmanship, other CDU politicians besides Dobrindt are considered possible contenders.

Special session of the parliamentary group

The CDU/CSU parliamentary group is planning a special session for Wednesday of next week in order to elect a new group leader. It remains open whether Spahn wants to keep his Bundestag mandate. The 46-year-old CDU politician from North Rhine-Westphalia has not commented on this so far.

On Spahn's political future, Merz said: "Ich weiß es nicht, was er selbst vorhat. Und wenn er darüber gerne sprechen will, tue ich das selbstverständlich."

Debate over surrogacy

Parallel to the personnel debate, the Bundestag continues to discuss a possible easing of the ban on surrogacy. A dpa survey of the Bundestag's parliamentary groups found that there is no unified position on the issue within the groups.

In an INSA poll for the "Bild" newspaper, 39 percent of respondents spoke out in favor of maintaining the ban on surrogacy. 21 percent gave no answer or replied "don't know." The remaining respondents expressed views without a clear majority for or against the ban. INSA surveyed 1,004 people between July 17 and 20; the maximum margin of error is plus/minus 3.1 percentage points.

The Greens' parliamentary group leader Britta Haßelmann said that she personally viewed a possible legalization of surrogacy very critically. She advocated re-examining the findings of the Commission on Reproductive Self-Determination and Reproductive Medicine from April 2024 in parliament. "Ich gehöre zu denen, die eine mögliche Legalisierung einer Leihmutterschaft sehr kritisch sehen," said Haßelmann.

Positions in the Bundestag

AfD family policy spokesperson Birgit Bessin likewise spoke out against easing the ban and additionally called for making the use of surrogacy abroad a criminal offense along the lines of the Italian model. This, she said, would send a clear signal against the commodification of human life.

SPD member Carmen Wegge spoke out in favor of allowing so-called altruistic surrogacy within narrow limits, in which the surrogate receives no payment, provided sufficient safeguards against the exploitation of women are in place. SPD member Jasmina Hostert told dpa that she currently saw no satisfactory solution to the complex ethical and social questions associated with surrogacy.

Die Linke member Kathrin Gebel warned that pregnancy could become a commodity and called instead for better financing of fertility treatments, adoption, and foster care, as well as the full equality of patchwork and rainbow families.

Legal situation

In Germany, surrogacy is legally prohibited. Nevertheless, travel abroad – as in Spahn's case to the USA – makes it possible to carry out such procedures. The legal assessment of such parent-child relationships established abroad has been contested in Germany for years.

The change at the top of the parliamentary group is politically sensitive: the CDU/CSU parliamentary group is the largest opposition group in the Bundestag and at the same time the largest governing faction, since the CDU and CSU form the federal government. The personnel decision is regarded as a mood test for the cooperation between the sister parties after the break with the previous officeholder.

Significance for the coalition

Observers view the personnel questions as a litmus test for the alliance between the CDU and CSU in the black-red coalition. Söder had already stressed weeks ago that the Union must show unity in the upcoming decisions in order to underpin the coalition's claim to power.

The succession of Steinmeier is also likely to become a central topic of parliamentary deliberations in the autumn. The SPD, as the coalition partner, will according to its own statements contribute its own proposals to the process. Which names from the SPD ranks are being discussed has not yet been made public.

Meanwhile, the Union parties continue to remain tight-lipped about who should succeed Spahn. Merz emphasized that the situation within the party was complex and that he would not get involved in the speculation. From the CSU side as well, it was said that the personnel decision would be made calmly and with the necessary care.

Dobrindt's decision not to make a public statement is in line with the approach of the Union leadership, which wants to clarify personnel matters behind the scenes. From the Federal Interior Ministry's environment, it was said that Dobrindt was focusing on his responsibilities in government.