On Monday, Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) was finally able to announce the name of the new Federal Minister of Transport in Berlin, following a weekend of speculation and debate. Steffen Bilger (CDU), aged 47 — who previously served as a state secretary in the transport ministry from 2018 to 2021 — is stepping up to lead the ministry.
The Chancellor had criticized the outgoing Transport Minister, Patrick Schnieder (CDU), for doing too little to address the chronic chaos and frequent delays plaguing the Deutsche Bahn railway system. Merz also faulted him for initiating too few projects to improve Germany's ailing infrastructure.
On Monday, Merz said he expected the new minister to ensure that "we become faster and better at driving a new era of progress in Germany."Steffen Bilger is taking over the Transport MinistryImage: dts Nachrichtenagentur/IMAGO
Bilger's appointment marks the latest step in a cabinet reshuffle of the conservative wing of the government. This chain reaction of personnel changes was triggered by the resignation of Jens Spahn — the powerful leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag — who was forced to step down following allegations of hypocrisy over his decision to have a child via surrogacy in the United States, circumventing German law and in violation of his party's principles.Thorsten Frei is to take on the powerful role as CDU/CSU parliamentary group leaderImage: Tobias Schwarz/AFP
