German government faces first major crisis over judicial nominee

The German ruling coalition has entered its first major crisis after conservative members of parliament rebelled against a high court candidate supported by the Social Democrats.

Friedrich Merz’s coalition was forced to postpone a vote on the appointment of three judges on Friday after it became clear that the candidates would not receive the necessary two-thirds majority in the Bundestag due to opposition from within the Chancellor’s CDU/CSU bloc.

The crisis also reveals how problematic discontent within the conservative party base can be, as Merz seeks to take on hundreds of billions of euros in public debt to finance defense and infrastructure spending to revive the German economy.

On Friday, the CDU/CSU bloc informed its coalition partner, the SPD, that it would not support the candidacy of law professor Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf. The official reason for the last-minute decision was the need to investigate potential plagiarism allegations that emerged overnight.

The source of the allegations, a blogger and self-described “plagiarism hunter,” suggested on Thursday that there were similarities between the footnotes of the theses of Brosius-Gersdorf and her husband.

Brosius-Gersdorf’s candidacy was controversial even before the allegations surfaced. Some Christian Democrats found her views, particularly on abortion, to be too “left-wing.”

“This attempt to politicize the nomination of Supreme Court judges is an unprecedented event in Germany,” said Andrea Römmele, a political scientist at the Hertie School, speaking to the Financial Times (FT).

The SPD described it as a “smear campaign.” SPD member of parliament Dirk Wiese stated in parliament, “I never would have imagined that we would have debates reminiscent of the appointment of US Supreme Court justices. In recent days, a smear campaign has been waged against a highly respected civil law professor and lawyer whose professional qualifications are beyond doubt.”

Greens deputy group leader Britta Haßelmann said, “Today is a disastrous day for parliament.”

Tensions have also recently arisen within the coalition over the decision to postpone electricity tax cuts for consumers. CSU leader Markus Söder criticized SPD leader Lars Klingbeil for not implementing the cuts, which were also supported by Merz and would have an annual cost of approximately €5.4 billion, in his first budget.