00 AM to address internal disagreements surrounding the selection of Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf, the SPD’s nominee for a position on the Federal Constitutional Court.. Reports from the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” citing senior parliamentary sources, indicate the discussions are centered on Brosius-Gersdorf’s publicly expressed views on abortion rights.
While Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) remains optimistic about securing a majority in the Bundestag during Friday’s vote on the three judicial candidates, discussions within the CDU/CSU group have revealed varying perspectives on the SPD’s nominee. CSU State Group leader Alexander Hoffmann characterized Brosius-Gersdorf as “a respectable candidate of the SPD – and certainly not a left-wing activist”. Nevertheless, parliamentary sources acknowledge that there are “different opinions” regarding the law professor, a division that became apparent during a previous parliamentary group meeting held earlier this week.
The 16 judges of the Federal Constitutional Court are appointed through a process shared between the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, each contributing half of the appointments. A two-thirds majority is required from both bodies for a successful election. Historically, this necessity has led to informal agreements between parties to allocate positions based on their proportional representation. Following the most recent federal election, a coalition of the CDU/CSU, SPD, Greens (and previously FDP) no longer holds a combined two-thirds majority in the Bundestag. Consequently, securing the necessary votes for Constitutional Court appointments now requires the support of parties such as the Left or the AfD.
Failure by the Bundestag to elect the judges would result in the Bundesrat assuming responsibility for filling the vacancies in Karlsruhe. Within the Bundesrat, the governments composed of the CDU/CSU, SPD, Greens and FDP continue to maintain a two-thirds majority.