A high-ranking politician in Germany's governing conservative coalition has resigned from his position after having a baby through a surrogate mother, a move at odds with his own party's stance.

Jens Spahn, 46, the parliamentary leader of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party CSU, stepped down on Saturday following calls from within his own party for him to quit.

News that Spahn and his husband had become parents through a surrogate in the United States broke on Thursday, leading to criticism from fellow conservatives and accusations of hypocrisy from the opposition.

“Over the past few days, I have come to realise that my personal happiness – starting a family with my husband and becoming a father – is incompatible with my political office,” Spahn wrote in his resignation letter.

His exit strips Merz of one of his closest allies. As parliamentary leader, Spahn's job was to ensure Merz's government had the votes to pass its agenda, making it one of the most powerful roles in German politics.

Surrogacy is banned in Germany, though it is legal to raise a child born to a surrogate abroad. Spahn's party voted to sustain the ban as recently as February.

Spahn defended himself on Friday, telling Bild newspaper he had “wrestled with myself for a long time, including on the issue of surrogacy”.

Merz said Spahn's decision to step down was “right and unavoidable”. While crediting Spahn with helping the CDU return to power, he added, “Credibility is the most valuable asset in politics.”

The chancellor avoided publicly criticizing his ally but said he saw “no reason” to change his party's stance on surrogacy and said the CDU would discuss the incident.

Source: www.aljazeera.com