Jens Spahn, a senior leader and key ally of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has resigned as chair of the Christian Democrat (CDU) party and parliamentary head of the CDU faction. The resignation follows the announcement that Spahn and his husband, Daniel Funke, became parents through a surrogate mother in the United States.
The move has sparked accusations of hypocrisy and double standards, as surrogacy is banned in Germany and the CDU is vehemently opposed to its legalization. Spahn had previously criticised rented wombs and refused to relax the surrogacy ban during his tenure as health minister in 2020.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz described Spahn's resignation as unavoidable and the right decision, stating that credibility is the highest asset in politics. The controversy has highlighted tensions within Germany's conservative coalition.