Friedrich Merz sees himself forced to make major personnel changes.Image: keystone
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is putting together a large personnel package following the resignation of parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn.
July 23, 2026, 9:20 p.mJuly 23, 2026, 9:20 p.m
According to information from the German Press Agency from the Union, four further personnel decisions are to be made after the already announced change of Chancellor Thorsten Frei to the leadership of the parliamentary group. Merz is expected to present it to the public on Friday morning.
- Minister of Health Nina Warken (CDU) should move to Frei’s position in the Chancellery.
- CDU general secretary should be for them Carsten Linnemann Become Minister of Health.
- Linnemann’s position as CDU manager will be taken over by the party’s previous treasurer, Franziska Hoppermanntake over.
- The previous Parliamentary State Secretary in the Digital Ministry, Philipp Amthor (CDU), should appoint the State Minister for Federal and State Cooperation, Michael Meisterreplace him in the Chancellery.
There was no official confirmation of the personal details, which other media also reported on, on Thursday evening. “The Chancellor will announce the personnel decisions when all open points have been clarified,” said people close to Merz. It is still unclear who will take over Hoppermann’s position as treasurer and who will be Amthor’s successor in the digital ministry.
Merz had already hinted at greater castling
“It could be an opportunity to think again about the positioning of the federal government.” With these words, Merz had already hinted at a major personnel shake-up as a result of Spahn’s resignation in the ZDF “Summer Interview” last Sunday.
On Wednesday he had already announced that the head of the Chancellery, Thorsten Frei, would be moving to the top of the parliamentary group as Spahn’s successor. It had been clear since Tuesday evening that Warken was his preferred candidate to succeed Frei. According to information from the German Press Agency, she initially hesitated to accept for family reasons. She has three children.
Nina Warken should move to the Chancellery.Image: keystone
Linnemann was also said to have been asked on Tuesday whether he wanted to take over the Ministry of Health. Nevertheless, Merz initially only presented the new parliamentary group leader on Wednesday. Respect for the parliamentary group and the important office requires that attention initially only be focused on this office, it was said.
Warken demonstrated the power of reform in the Ministry of Health
Warken was hardly known to the wider public before her appointment as Federal Minister of Health last year. She has many years of political experience. She has been sitting in the Bundestag since 2013, with a short interruption. The 47-year-old lawyer was parliamentary managing director of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the last electoral term. Since 2025 she has been at the head of the influential CDU Women’s Union.
He made it clear in April that Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) thinks highly of her when Warken presented her reform of statutory health insurance. He attested to her courage, a sense of proportion, honesty and empathy – qualities that Warken will also need in her new job in the Chancellery.
Merz is counteracting the image of the “Chancellor’s Men’s Association”.
By choosing a woman, Merz is countering the accusation that the Chancellery is a purely men’s club. All of his closest advisors are currently men: the two important department heads for foreign and economic policy, the government spokesman, the head of the Chancellery and his office manager.
Merz had already indicated that he would use the personnel castling to further increase the proportion of women in leadership positions in the Union. He said he had already succeeded in doing this since he took office as CDU chairman, but added: “I’m doing everything I can to make it even better.”
Hoppermann faced turbulent times
A woman, Franziska Hoppermann, will now also be in charge of the Konrad Adenauer House. As federal treasurer, she has previously worked in the background, but was also a member of the CDU executive committee. The business graduate has been sitting in the Bundestag for the Hamburg-Wandsbek constituency since 2021 and is a member of the budget committee and the committee for digital and state modernization.
The 44-year-old may be facing turbulent times with the three state elections in September. Her advantage: She cannot yet be held responsible for possible election defeats.
Linnemann takes advantage of his second chance
Linnemann had the chance to move to the cabinet after the federal election, but he missed it. Even before the election, he was being discussed as minister of a super ministry for economics, labor and social affairs. However, the merger of the two important ministries did not take place. Linnemann could still have moved to the cabinet, but chose the party headquarters.
However, he didn’t have an easy time there in the first 15 months of the black-red coalition. He wasn’t able to really develop in the shadow of party leader and Chancellor Merz. The federal government is more responsible for the Union’s declining poll numbers. But they also remain attached to him as party manager. The AfD has now left the Union far behind in the nationwide surveys.
Amthor is one of the young CDU talents
Only 33 years old, Amthor from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is one of the most talented young CDU politicians. In the Digital Ministry, he was most recently responsible for reducing bureaucracy. By replacing Michael Meister, Merz is reacting to the state governments’ great dissatisfaction with the coordination of government work with the states.
Despite his age, Philipp Amthor already has a lot of experience.Image: keystone
Spahn triggered personnel castling
Jens Spahn triggered the personnel castling on Saturday with his resignation as Union parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag after he made public that he and his husband Daniel Funke had had a child with the help of a surrogate mother in the USA. By withdrawing, he responded to the sharp criticism of his behavior within the Union. Surrogacy is prohibited in Germany. The 46-year-old CDU politician from North Rhine-Westphalia has not yet said whether he wants to keep his Bundestag mandate. (sda/dpa)