Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag has elected Thorsten Frei as its new chair. The 52-year-old CDU politician, who previously headed the Chancellery, received 91.9 percent of yes votes, according to participant sources. Abstentions are not counted in the Union; only yes and no votes are tallied.
Frei succeeds Jens Spahn, who resigned after allegations regarding the use of a surrogate mother in the US for the birth of his son. Chancellor Friedrich Merz used the reshuffle of the parliamentary group post for a comprehensive cabinet reorganization: Steffen Bilger becomes Transport Minister, Carsten Linnemann Health Minister, and Nina Warken Chancellery Minister.
ZDF chief correspondent Andrea Maurer considers it unlikely that Frei’s election will be used to settle scores with Chancellor Merz. “The chancellor must now hope that the summer break calms the situation,” she said. Grumbling about the personnel decisions in the Union is loud, but the election result shows no open revolt.
Frei is considered a close confidant of Merz. After last year’s federal election, the chancellor decided to make Frei head of the Chancellery and give the parliamentary group chair to the much more uncomfortable Jens Spahn – a surprise for many. Now Frei must meet the expectation of MPs that the parliamentary group remains a self-confident power center alongside the Chancellery. They expect him to show clear resolve to the chancellor despite all loyalty.
With over 90 percent, Frei is in the historical average of the Union. Of the 13 predecessors, almost all started their terms with such a result, unless they had to prevail in contested votes. The only exception was Friedrich Merz himself, who achieved 89.5 percent in 2022. Jens Spahn reached 91.3 percent in his first election last year.
Frei comes from Säckingen in the Black Forest on the border with Switzerland. The father of three studied law, worked as a lawyer and government councilor before becoming mayor of Donaueschingen in 2004. He has been a member of the Bundestag since 2013, where he became parliamentary secretary under parliamentary group leader and opposition leader Friedrich Merz in 2021.
Source: www.zdfheute.de
