After days of confusion, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has reshuffled his cabinet. Conservative politicians fear that this will not help with the prospects in the upcoming state elections.
On Monday, Merz finally announced the name of the new Federal Minister of Transport in Berlin. Steffen Bilger (CDU), aged 47 — who previously served as a state secretary in the transport ministry from 2018 to 2021 — is stepping up to lead the ministry.
The Chancellor had criticized outgoing Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) for doing too little to address the chronic chaos and frequent delays plaguing the Deutsche Bahn railway system. Merz also faulted him for initiating too few projects to improve Germany's ailing infrastructure.
On Monday, Merz said he expected the new minister to ensure that "we become faster and better at driving a new era of progress in Germany."
Bilger's appointment marks the latest step in a cabinet reshuffle of the conservative wing of the government. This chain reaction of personnel changes was triggered by the resignation of Jens Spahn — the powerful leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag — who was forced to step down following allegations of hypocrisy over his decision to have a child via surrogacy in the United States.
Thorsten Frei, previously the head of the chancellery, is now set to become the new leader of the conservative parliamentary group on Wednesday. The 52-year-old Frei, considered a close confidant of Merz, will be tasked with explaining party positions in Bundestag speeches and media interviews, as well as securing majorities for government policies and negotiating with coalition partner SPD.
47-year-old Nina Warken — a politician from Baden-Württemberg — is taking over from Frei as head of the chancellery. She is a member of the CDU women's organization and as health minister recently pushed through a cost-cutting program for statutory health insurance funds.
Merz considers Warken assertive and well-versed in security policy — an important quality given that the head of the chancellery also coordinates oversight of Germany's intelligence agencies.
Carsten Linnemann, previously the CDU general secretary, is set to take over the health portfolio. Merz believes Linnemann's background as an economics expert will serve him well in the new role.
Approval of the government's performance is at an all-time low. State elections are scheduled for September in three eastern states where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is expected to see significant gains. Merz is demonstrating decisiveness against this backdrop, but Sven Schulze (CDU), a minister in Saxony-Anhalt, said the past few days had dominated political discussions and "not exactly gone well."
Source: www.dw.com