German politician Jens Spahn, one of the most prominent figures of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, resigned this Saturday as head of the conservative parliamentary group after it became known that he has become a father through surrogacy in the United States.
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Merz himself urged him to resign due to growing anger among many CDU leaders over Spahn’s choice, which conflicts with the party’s official stance, which rejects the use of surrogacy. Surrogacy is illegal in Germany.
Spahn sent a letter this Saturday to his colleagues in which he writes: “In recent days, I have realized that my personal happiness, which consists of forming a family with my husband and becoming a father, is incompatible with my political role.” The conservative parliamentary group is made up of the CDU and its Bavarian ally, the Christian Social Union (CSU), both opposed to this practice.
Fear of the case’s impact on three regional elections in September
Pressure for Spahn’s resignation came from Christian Democratic leaders and Merz himself: “Credibility is the most important value in politics”
Spahn has always stayed within the party line. “One thing is pure doctrine, another thing is life,” he had said in his so far only public statement – in a podcast of the newspaper Bild – since the debate about his fatherhood began. Spahn was Minister of Health between 2018 and 2021, and his portfolio was responsible for the embryo protection law which includes the prohibition of the use of surrogacy.
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The controversy surrounding the Spahn case was going to pose a new problem for Merz and the CDU ahead of three decisive regional elections in the east in September: in Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The CDU leader in the latter state, Daniel Peters, said that Jens Spahn could not continue to lead the parliamentary group for reasons of credibility. Spahn has been accused of hypocrisy.
“Jens Spahn has informed me that he is resigning from the leadership of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. The decision is correct and was inevitable. Credibility is the most important value in politics,” said Chancellor Merz.
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