German Chancellor Merz announces cabinet reshuffle

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced a Cabinet reshuffle on Friday morning.

Carsten Linnemann, who until now served as general secretary of Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), will replace Nina Warken as health minister.

Meanwhile, Warken will become the chancellor's new chief of staff following a recent vacancy. She becomes the first woman to hold that job.

"The personnel changes follow a clear line," Merz said. "We want a government that works with great vigor and pleasure and also represents the personal diversity of our society and politics. We are a reform government and want to continue showing that."

Philipp Amthor was also present at the press conference as Merz's new minister of state responsible for managing the federal government's relations with Germany's 16 states.

Merz said he would announce further changes to the cabinet in the near future. Those decisions would take "a few days yet, and perhaps more time," he said.

German tabloid Bild separately reported Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder would step down, although Merz did not comment on this portfolio in his press conference on Friday morning.

Multiple German media outlets have also tipped CDU treasurer Franziska Hoppermann to become the party's new general secretary.

Resignation prompts reshuffle

Friday's announcement comes after the CDU's parliamentry leader, Jens Spahn, resigned over a surrogacy controversy last weekend.

Spahn had announced that he became a parent with the help of a surrogate mother in the United States. He was accused of hypocrisy because surrogacy is banned in Germany and the CDU has repeatedly voted to support this ban.

Merz appointed his previous chief of staff, Thorsten Frei, to fill the position on Wednesday, and used this opportunity to make further changes on Friday.

The chancellor's popularity has sunk to rock-bottom levels while Europe's biggest economy continues to face years of stagnation.