By Andreas Rinke
BERLIN, July 22 (Reuters) - Germany's ruling conservatives said on Wednesday they would appoint a close ally of Chancellor Friedrich Merz as their new parliamentary faction chief, following the abrupt exit of party heavyweight Jens Spahn in a row over a surrogacy baby.
Thorsten Frei, the head of Merz's chancellery, will replace Spahn, the Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union said in a statement, confirming an earlier report by the Bild newspaper. The parliamentary group will vote on the matter at a special meeting on July 29.
"I ask the parliamentary group to approve Thorsten Frei, who has played a key role in the government's success to date and in the stability of the coalition. The reform successes of recent weeks are also to his credit," Merz was quoted as saying.
Spahn resigned on Saturday after having a baby born to a surrogate mother in the United States, a move at odds with his own party's opposition to surrogacy. Spahn had at one time been seen as a potential challenger to Merz.
Frei, a longtime Merz confidant, has been responsible for coordinating government business from the chancellery, a role that has drawn scrutiny during the coalition's rocky first year.
German media have reported criticism within the ruling parties — at a time of low public approval for Merz and his government — that coordination between the chancellery, ministries, parliamentary groups and coalition partners has often been poor.
Frei's supporters see him as better suited to the parliamentary post, saying he has strong backing in the faction and is well connected there. Discussions regarding who will succeed Frei as head of the chancellery are continuing, officials said.
Spahn, 46, the parliamentary leader of Merz's Christian Democratic Union and its sister Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), drew heavy criticism after news emerged that he had become a parent with his husband through the surrogate mother.
Surrogacy is prohibited in Germany, although it is not illegal to bring up a child born of a surrogate mother outside Germany. The CDU voted to uphold the ban on surrogacy inside Germany at its party conference in February.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Markus Wacket and Ludwig Burger; writing by Matthias Williams; editing by Kirsti Knolle and Gareth Jones)
