A small and confusing reshuffle today, which might prelude a more significant shake-up in the near future, perhaps, but for now it’s just a hypothesis, with the departure of the Minister of Economy, Katherina Reiche, from the Government. German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, tried to seize the opportunity offered by the resignation of the conservative (Cdu-Csu) parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag, Jens Spahn, to reassign some positions. However, the attempt to restore luster to the Government team risks fueling discomfort within his own party, with an effect contrary to what was sought.
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Waltz between Chancellery and Health
All the changes are among men of the CDU. To replace Spahn, who was overwhelmed by controversy over resorting to surrogacy in the United States (thus circumventing the ban in Germany), Merz chose the loyal head of the Chancellery, Thorsten Frei, freeing up a significant position. Filling it, as announced on Friday, July 24, will fall to the current Minister of Health, Nina Warken.
She will be the first woman in Germany to hold this position, which acts as a link between the Chancellery, the ministries, and the parliamentarians. Warken will have to do a better job than Frei in smoothing out conflicts and maintaining contact between the party leadership, regional groups, and the federal government. “She will be my most important support in the daily work of government,” Merz declared.
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A year ago, Merz had somewhat surprisingly entrusted Warken, a jurist from Baden-Württemberg, with the task of leading the reform of the healthcare system. Completing the assignment will now fall to another party heavyweight, Carsten Linnemann, who was left out of the government team last May after managing the healthcare chapter in coalition negotiations. Linnemann had also been responsible for the 2025 election campaign, which ended with the CDU’s second-worst post-war result, despite winning the government with a relative majority. Now, in the polls, it is forced to chase Alternative für Deutschland.
A new man to talk to the Länder
There is also a change at the Ministry for relations between the federal state and the Länder, where Philipp Amthor, previously Undersecretary for Digital Affairs, arrives. In the first year of the mandate, relations between Berlin and the regions have not been idyllic. Tensions emerged dramatically in May, when the Chamber of the Länder rejected a measure proposed by the Government and approved by the Bundestag, which gave companies the possibility to offer a tax-free bonus of up to one thousand euros to their employees, to counter the crisis.
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