Union faction in the Bundestag is getting a new First Parliamentary Manager: Catarina dos Santos-Wintz (CDU) is to take over the post previously held by Steffen Bilger. Bilger was appointed transport minister by Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), which left the position in the faction vacant.
Thorsten Frei (CDU) has proposed the 32-year-old lawyer for the post. The election is to take place at the first meeting of the CDU/CSU faction after the summer break in early September. Frei campaigned for the candidate in a text message to lawmakers, highlighting her experience, her network, and her collegial manner.
Dos Santos-Wintz has been a member of the Bundestag since 2021 and sits on the Council of Elders. She has already served as a parliamentary manager in the Union faction. In the 2025 federal election, she won her constituency of Aachen II as a direct candidate with 40.1 percent of the vote against SPD politician Claudia Moll.
The personnel changes in the Union faction were triggered by the resignation of Jens Spahn (CDU) as faction leader. Spahn had made public that he and his husband had a child via a surrogate mother in the United States. This decision also drew criticism within the Union.
Source: www.zeit.de
