Key facts
- Thorsten Frei will lead Germany's conservative parliamentary faction.
- Frei is a close confidant of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
- Jens Spahn resigned from his post as parliamentary leader.
- Spahn's resignation stemmed from controversy over his child born via a surrogate mother in the U.S.
- Surrogacy is prohibited in Germany.
Thorsten Frei, a close confidant of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, is set to lead Germany's conservative parliamentary faction. His appointment follows the resignation of Jens Spahn, who faced significant pressure after revealing he and his husband had a child through a surrogate mother in the United States. Surrogacy is prohibited in Germany, although it is not illegal to raise a child born via surrogacy abroad. Spahn, a former health minister and prominent figure within Merz's Christian Democratic Union, had previously expressed skepticism about legalizing surrogacy. Several party members had called for his resignation, and Merz himself stated that credibility is politics' most valuable asset. Frei has been responsible for coordinating government business from the chancellery.