Asked about Thorsten Frei, his chief of staff, whom ZDF has floated as a possible successor to Spahn, Merz declined to confirm any names. Promoting Frei would leave Merz with another senior vacancy to fill.
In the interview, Merz also declined to defend Spahn personally, saying he had not expected outrage “on this scale.” “It probably also had something to do with his person, and also with the communication,” the chancellor said.
Merz said Spahn told him about the child around 10 days ago and asked him to keep it quiet, which he did. Spahn informed the party “very, very late,” Merz said, and the damage to its credibility became “abundantly clear” on Saturday. “And that’s why we then acted.”
German media reported Saturday that Merz had asked Spahn to step down.
Asked whether he felt betrayed, Merz said only that he did not want to assess it publicly. He called the matter closed and thanked Spahn for his work on the governing coalition’s recent reforms.
The CDU party leadership is expected to discuss the succession in the coming days, according to ZDF.