00:01German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has signalled he is open to reshuffling his government as he seeks to fill the vacancy
00:08left by CDU parliamentary leader Jens Spahn, who was asked to step down and eventually resigned on Saturday.
00:16Spahn has come under particular scrutiny after he and his husband became fathers through surrogacy in the United States, a
00:24process that can cost hundreds of thousands of euros.
00:28Critics on the political left have accused Spahn of hypocrisy, as he has repeatedly opposed legalizing surrogacy in Germany and
00:37has not backed broader reforms to family policy.
00:40The pressure to resolve the issue quickly is driven by a series of key state elections in September in Saxony
00:47-Hanhalt, Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
00:51The CDU is facing difficult contests in all three states.
00:56The affair comes as Merz is facing mounting political pressure of his own.
01:01Only 13% of Germans say they are satisfied with his performance as Chancellor, according to the latest ARD Deutschland
01:09trend poll.
01:10Head of the Federal Chancellery, Tarsten Frey, is widely seen as the frontrunner to replace Spahn,
01:16although Merz declined to confirm whether Frey or any other candidate was under consideration.
01:27We're on the last side.
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