The process of selecting new judges for the Federal Constitutional Court has exposed internal divisions within the German parliament, raising questions about the adherence to established procedures and potentially impacting parliamentary authority.
Following a recent disruption to the selection process, Dirk Wiese, Parliamentary Managing Director of the SPD parliamentary group, has voiced concerns regarding a perceived lack of deference toward leadership within the CDU, the largest party in the governing coalition. Wiese, in statements to the Funke-Mediengruppe newspapers, expressed surprise at the Union parliamentary group’s failure to follow recommendations from both their own parliamentary group leader and the Chancellor.
The situation arose when Jens Spahn, parliamentary group leader of the CDU, was unable to secure sufficient support among CDU/CSU parliamentarians despite prior commitments made to the SPD. Shortly before the scheduled parliamentary vote on Friday, the Union parliamentary group announced its intention to withhold approval for SPD candidate Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf. This ultimately led to the postponement of the vote concerning three candidate proposals.