Election of judges | Dissatisfaction in CDU and SPD over actions of coalition leaders

Berlin. In light of the dispute over the election of constitutional judges, criticism of the coalition leaders is also growing within the CDU/CSU. What the governing parties have offered in the past two weeks is "a car crash in slow motion," said Dennis Radtke, head of the CDU's social wing, to the "Welt am Sonntag" newspaper. Criticism within the CDU/CSU parliamentary group also directed its own parliamentary group leader, Jens Spahn, who justified the cancellation of the election of SPD candidate Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf as constitutional judge, planned for Friday in the Bundestag, with doubts about her academic integrity.

"The sudden emergence of plagiarism allegations gave me a very unpleasant feeling," said CDU Bundestag member Thomas Bareiß to Sunday's Tagesspiegel newspaper. Suddenly launched questionable plagiarism allegations should have been more thoroughly investigated. "I have high expectations, especially of us Christian Democrats, in such matters." Bareiß criticized not only his own party but also his coalition partner, the SPD: "Both sides have not exactly covered themselves in glory in recent weeks." This applies in particular to the Social Democrats' announcement on Friday that they would stick with their nominated candidate.

The Bundestag was supposed to vote on Friday on the appointment of three judges to the Federal Constitutional Court. However, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group called for the cancellation of the election of SPD candidate Brosius-Gersdorf at short notice, citing allegations of plagiarism that were subsequently criticized as fabricated. The lawyer's statements on abortion law, which were criticized as being too liberal, also caused rejection within the CDU/CSU.

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier (SPD) also commented on the issue in a ZDF "Summer Interview" on Sunday, saying that the coalition had "damaged itself" through the dispute over the judicial election. He urged a swift decision on the constitutional judges. Steinmeier said the issue was "no small matter." "It's about the authority and functionality of a constitutional body that is also our highest court."

Left Party parliamentary group leader Heidi Reichinnek accused the CDU/CSU of "participating in a right-wing smear campaign against a respected lawyer." "They also failed to seek democratic majorities for their own candidate, but were prepared to let him be elected with the votes of the firmly right-wing extremist AfD." Reichinnek was referring to the CDU/CSU candidate, Günter Spinner, who had been recommended by the Federal Constitutional Court. In his case, the Left Party had promised support if it were granted its own right to nominate candidates. The CDU/CSU had rejected this request, hoping that a two-thirds majority for the coalition with the Greens could have been achieved if a relevant number of absentees were present. However, the AfD had also signaled its support – its share would have been difficult to identify in the secret ballot.

The SPD has now offered the CDU/CSU parliamentary group a personal introduction to candidate Brosius-Gersdorf to clarify the procedure. Such a direct conversation is a "proposal that's hard to turn down," SPD parliamentary group vice-chair Sonja Eichwede told Welt TV. However, an official response from the CDU/CSU parliamentary group to the invitation was still pending as of Sunday. Agencies/nd