In response to questions about Thorsten Frei, his chief of staff and a potential successor to Spahn according to ZDF, Merz chose not to confirm any candidates. Promoting Frei would create another high-level opening for Merz to address.
During the interview, Merz also refrained from defending Spahn personally, noting his surprise at the level of outrage. “It probably also had something to do with his person, and also with the communication,” he commented.
Merz mentioned that Spahn informed him about the child approximately 10 days prior, requesting confidentiality, which Merz honored. Spahn reportedly alerted the party “very, very late,” leading to significant damage to its credibility. Merz stated this became “abundantly clear” on Saturday, prompting their subsequent actions.
Reports from German media indicated that Merz had requested Spahn’s resignation.
When questioned about feelings of betrayal, Merz simply expressed that he did not wish to comment publicly. He acknowledged the issue as resolved and expressed gratitude for Spahn’s contributions to recent coalition reforms.
The CDU party leadership is expected to deliberate on the succession in the coming days, as reported by ZDF.
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