Jens Spahn resigns from budget committee seat after absence and vacation photo controversy

Ex-faction leader Spahn missed Bundestag sessions; a photo reportedly showed him on vacation in Sardinia. Even within the Union, discontent is growing.

Jens Spahn is currently behaving too casually, something even his party does not appreciate. Photo: Lars Berg/dpa

dpa/taz | New turmoil is brewing within the Union faction in the Bundestag over former faction leader Jens Spahn. According to Spahn's office, he is relinquishing his seat on the Budget Committee.

The 46-year-old's absence on two days of the past session week—both in the plenary and in the Budget Committee—had caused irritation among CDU and CSU lawmakers, according to information from the German Press Agency (dpa).

Following reports from Stern, Spiegel, and ARD, a discussion took place on Friday in the faction's budget working group. Several of the 14 members reportedly demanded Spahn's expulsion from the committee. The faction leadership intervened, and according to consistent media reports, a kind of probationary period until the end of the year was agreed upon. However, a formal deadline was not confirmed to dpa by the working group. There were reportedly calls for Spahn to voluntarily withdraw from the committee.

No Comment from Faction Leadership

The faction leadership declined to comment. "We do not comment on internal matters," a spokesperson told dpa. The chairman of the budget working group, Christian Haase, also remained reserved: "I do not wish to comment on internal working group questions." Spahn himself and his office initially did not respond to dpa inquiries.

Spahn resigned as faction leader in July after he and his husband became parents via a surrogate mother—an event that sparked massive outrage within the party. Surrogacy is illegal in Germany. The Union advocates for maintaining this ban. In early September, the faction leadership announced that Spahn would receive the post on the Budget Committee.

Sardinia Photo Triggered Irritation

The new irritation was triggered by the publication of a photo of Spahn by Bild, which reportedly showed him on the Italian island of Sardinia with his son in his arms during the ongoing Bundestag session week. Bild later retracted the photo. It was stated that the photo was "taken in a private setting" and that its publication violated Bild's "own rules."

However, the uproar that led to the working group meeting on Friday could no longer be stopped. According to Stern, Spahn himself explained his two-day absence as being due to "family reasons." "A substitute for the Budget Committee meeting was organized, as is customary," the medium quoted Spahn's circle as saying.

In early July, Jens Spahn had spoken out in favor of tightening sick leave regulations. The coalition of Union and SPD had agreed at the time that a certificate of incapacity for work must be submitted from the first day of illness. It should also no longer be possible to call in sick by phone. "It is a question of fairness towards colleagues who sometimes drag themselves to work with a slight headache that there must be proof of incapacity for work," Spahn said at the time.