German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday picked his right-hand man to lead the CDU/CSU alliance in parliament after the incumbent was forced out for using a surrogate mother.
Merz said that he had nominated Thorsten Frei, the current chief of the chancellory as well as minister for special tasks, to take over the post from Jens Spahn.
The CDU/CSU parliamentary group is set to elect its new leader at a special meeting on Wednesday next week.
Spahn stepped down as chairman of the centre-right CDU/CSU party's faction in parliament over the weekend after mounting criticism over his use of a surrogate mother in the United States.
Surrogacy is banned in Germany.
