Dorothee Feller wants to become the new CDU district chairwoman in Münsterland

North Rhine-Westphalia's school minister Dorothee Feller wants to become the new chairwoman of the Münsterland CDU district association. The previous chairman, Jens Spahn, told the Westfälische Zeitung that he would not run for office again. The former Münster district president Feller was then considered a possible successor. Now the 60-year-old confirmed her candidacy: "Yes, that's true."

Feller spoke of a “relatively new development”. She received a lot of support from Münsterland, which is why she decided to apply for district chairmanship. However, some discussions still need to be held. "The next district party conference where this will be decided is mid-September, and we'll wait and see," said Feller, who has been deputy chairwoman of the Münster CDU district association since March.

Spahn resigns after debate about surrogacy

Spahn's decision to relinquish the office of district chairman became known on Wednesday. According to the Westfälische Zeitung, the CDU politician decided to take the step after exploratory talks with the district chairmen of his party.

Spahn announced in July that he wanted to compete again. However, it subsequently became known that he and his husband Daniel Funke became parents in the USA with the help of a surrogate mother. This caused some strong criticism - on the one hand because surrogacy is banned in Germany, on the other hand because the CDU and Spahn himself have repeatedly spoken out clearly against legalization. After growing pressure, including within the Union, Spahn resigned as chairman of the Union faction. However, he retained his mandate as a member of the Bundestag.

Spahn had held the district chairmanship for two years. At that time, he replaced North Rhine-Westphalia's Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann, who headed the CDU Münsterland district for 21 years.