German Chancellor Friedrich Merz indicated on Sunday he could consider a cabinet reshuffle after forcing key ally Jens Spahn out as head of his conservative alliance in parliament.
“It could be an opportunity to rethink the composition of the federal government,” Merz told national public broadcaster ZDF. He stressed that he was speaking hypothetically.
Furore erupted over Spahn’s decision to have a child via a surrogate mother in the United States, as surrogacy is banned in Germany. Both Merz and Spahn are members of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which explicitly rejects surrogacy.
Spahn previously served as CDU health minister. He and his husband, Daniel Funke, announced on Wednesday that they had become parents through surrogacy.
Merz declined to comment when asked whether Thorsten Frei, head of the chancellery, could replace Spahn.
Speculation over possible appointments is rife within the CDU and its Bavarian sister-party, the Christian Social Union (CSU). The two parties form a combined group in the Bundestag, which Spahn headed until stepping down.
Other names being mentioned as possible successors include CDU Secretary General Carsten Linnemann, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the CSU and Health Minister Nina Warken.