Berlin On Friday morning, Jens Spahn (CDU), together with the head of the Robert Koch Institute, Lothar Wieler, will again announce the assessments of the current corona situation. However, the traffic light coalition that is forming has long had to take care of the fight against the pandemic. The executive health minister only played a minor role in the Bundestag debate on Thursday. He was left with nothing more than a brief intervention to defend himself against criticism.
Spahn is not only losing importance in the office of health minister. The 41-year-old has also suffered a painful loss of power in his own party these days. Until a few weeks ago he was still considered a potential successor to the outgoing CDU leader Armin Laschet. And it has not been a year since Spahn sounded out his chances for a candidate for chancellor.
All of these ambitions seem like from another time. A good week ago, Spahn announced that he would not run for party chairmanship. His chances in the planned member survey are too hopeless. And meanwhile it is also clear that none of the teams of the three applicants – Friedrich Merz, Norbert Röttgen and Helge Braun – has a prominent place for him.
When Merz outlined on Tuesday how he would like to set up the party leadership as a possible CDU leader, he dealt with the Spahn personnel in a few seconds. He thanked Spahn for not running for chairmanship, said Merz and added: Instead, he could take on additional tasks in the Union parliamentary group in the future, “for example in the role of deputy parliamentary group chairman”.
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Change from the first row to the third
In the CDU, Spahn has to move from the first row to the third. So far he has been one of five deputy party leaders. But at least under Merz there is no longer any room for the Minister of Health. The former Union parliamentary group leader supports the applications from Silvia Breher and Karin Prien. In addition, he wants to bring an East German Prime Minister, Michael Kretschmer, to the top management body.
Merz also envisages a special role for Carsten Linnemann. The previous head of the CDU economic wing had toyed with the idea of running for office. He now renounces that in order to become party vice under Merz and to control the work on the basic program. The occupation of the fifth vice post is open and a decision is made in the Baden-Württemberg state association, it could come down to Steffen Bilger.
Spahn is out because Merz has chosen Linnemann. Like Spahn and Merz, he comes from North Rhine-Westphalia. Since the management positions are assigned according to country proportions, Spahn has to back off. At most he could become an assessor in the presidium, according to the CDU. Also in Röttgen’s considerations, Spahn does not play a prominent role, as the foreign politician’s team says.
It is questionable whether the head of the Chancellery, Helge Braun, the third candidate for the chairmanship, looks better for Spahn. As health minister, Spahn had to contend with dwindling popularity ratings this year. The mistakes in pandemic management, questionable donation dinners – all of this contributed to the descent of the former CDU superstar.
But there is more. Spahn has always behaved disloyally, emphasize many in the party. And that is a main reason why the three applicants for the party chairmanship have little desire to have him on their team.
Spahn is still considered a politician with great potential
It is pointed out that Spahn also stood at Armin Laschet’s side last year and supported his candidacy for the CDU chief position. Nevertheless, there were rumors in the winter that Spahn was exploring his chances for a candidate for chancellor in the party – behind Laschet’s back. At the time, in an interview about Spahn, he said the ambiguous sentence: “I trust him to do a lot.”
“I trust him to do a lot.”
(Photo: AFP / Getty Images)
It’s not just Laschet like this. Spahn is still considered a politician with great potential. Wolfgang Schäuble described him as one of the greatest talents of the CDU, made him his parliamentary state secretary as Federal Minister of Finance and supported him in applying for a post in the party presidium.
But over time, some supporters and allies began to have doubts that Spahn seemed too self-centered to them. For a long time, the Junge Union (JU) and the Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsunion (MIT) were reliable supporters. But that has changed too.
JU boss Tilman Kuban is now helping Merz. The economic wing sticks to the previous chairman Linnemann, who now plays in the Merz team. At the last JU Germany Day, Spahn received only friendly applause, despite a combative speech. There was nothing left of past cheers, and some delegates openly criticized his corona management.
If Spahn is about to step out of the limelight with his departure from the Ministry of Health, some in the party will consider it an opportunity. He should take some time back until the mistakes are forgotten and wounds have healed. It’s what Spahn has been hearing for a long time: He is still young enough and can wait. If the next CDU boss also fails, then a new chance will come for him. The opportunity to rise again.
More: For the third time, three candidates apply for the CDU chairmanship. Only those who give the People’s Party a clear perspective will be successful.