Coalition faces challenging day, but no impending state crisis as per Spahn's statement. - Coalition Faces Challenges, Yet No State Emergency Declared According to Spahn
The election of new judges to Germany's Federal Constitutional Court (Karlsruhe) has hit a snag, with the Bundestag postponing the vote due to disagreements over the nomination of SPD candidate Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf.
The ruling coalition, composed of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU/CSU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD), requires the support of opposition parties such as the Greens and the Left to appoint judges, as they do not hold the necessary two-thirds majority in the Bundestag. However, the CDU's opposition to Brosius-Gersdorf's nomination, due to her liberal views on abortion and mandatory vaccination, has created a stalemate.
The far-right party AfD also strongly opposed Brosius-Gersdorf, partly because she had suggested supporting a ban on the party if legal grounds existed. The CDU raised new plagiarism allegations against Brosius-Gersdorf just hours before the vote, which the SPD and Left dismissed as baseless.
As a result, the Bundestag postponed the election of all three judges, following emergency discussions during the parliamentary session. The CDU/CSU threatened to abstain from voting for Brosius-Gersdorf unless her nomination was removed from the agenda, prompting calls for negotiations with the SPD.
Bundestag President Julia Klöckner urged political factions to reflect on their responsibilities, given the importance of timely appointments. Two judges have already ended their terms (Josef Christ in November, Doris König in June), and a third's term is ending soon, increasing the urgency. The delay leaves the court operating with some vacancies.
CDU politician Jens Spahn acknowledged mistakes in handling the botched election and emphasised the question of commonality and trust as central in discussions with the SPD. He stated that democratic processes involving the election of constitutional judges sometimes take longer than planned and does not see any urgency in the matter, as the Federal Constitutional Court is fully operational.
The discussion about the judge election is being closely followed by the German Press Agency (dpa) and Politico. The executive board of the Union parliamentary group will discuss the further course of action regarding the judge election on Tuesday afternoon. As of now, there is no immediate resolution in sight.
[1] https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/bundestag-wahlt-keinen-richter-zu-bverfg-a-1268385.html [2] https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/richterwahl-101.html [3] https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2022-06/bundestag-richterwahl-juden-juden-wahl-spd-cdusu-abstimmung-ausschluss [4] https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article262161942/Bundestag-richterwahl-Spahn-kritisiert-Umgang-mit-Brosius-Gersdorf.html
- The postponement of the vote for the election of new judges to Germany's Federal Constitutional Court has sparked discussions about policy-and-legislation, with the issue being closely followed by the German Press Agency (dpa) and Politico.
- The delay in the appointment of judges to the Federal Constitutional Court has raised concerns about the sustainability of the court's operations, as two judges have already ended their terms and a third's term is ending soon, leaving the court operating with some vacancies.
