Carsten Linnemann appointed German health minister, requests patience after video of self-doubt resurfaces

A cabinet reshuffle triggered by Spahn's resignation

The personnel chain started when Jens Spahn resigned as chair of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group after revealing that he and his husband Daniel Funke had a child with the help of a surrogate mother in the United States, a practice that is illegal in Germany. The announcement drew sharp criticism from within his own party. Spahn did not say whether he would keep his Bundestag seat. Chancellor Friedrich Merz reacted with a multi-level reorganisation. Kanzleramtschef Thorsten Frei moved to lead the parliamentary group. Health minister Nina Warken, who initially hesitated for family reasons, became the new head of the chancellery. Her health portfolio was handed to Carsten Linnemann, the previous CDU general secretary. Franziska Hoppermann, the party's former treasurer, took over as general secretary. Philipp Amthor, previously parliamentary state secretary in the digital ministry, replaced Michael Meister as the federal-state liaison in the chancellery. Official confirmation of the appointments was still pending.

Linnemann asks for time

On Saturday, Linnemann posted a video on Instagram in which he asked for a grace period. "To be honest, you have to give me a bit of time," he said. The 48-year-old, who holds a doctorate in economics and previously worked for Deutsche Bank Research, acknowledged the scale of the task.

Here and there I simply have to dive deeper. And I really have a hell of a lot of respect for this task.

He added that there is "quite a lot of music in it" to arrive at a just, efficient, and future-proof health system.

Past comments catch up

Linnemann's appointment immediately brought an old video back to the surface. In an interview with Phoenix on 6 May 2025, he said being a minister was not "his thing" and that if he had been put forward as health minister, he "probably would not have been successful." People would ask what he had to do with the portfolio, he argued, and then declared: "Therefore: cobbler, stick to your last. Do what you can." The clip was widely shared online after his nomination. On Saturday, Linnemann indirectly acknowledged the situation: "Sometimes things turn out differently than you think."

Health and social groups set clear demands

Before his swearing-in, associations outlined their expectations. Michaela Engelmeier, chair of the Sozialverband Deutschland (SoVD), told the Funke media group that the first act must be to reconsider the health reform.

The first act must be to reconsider the health reform, which above all provides for significant benefit cuts and additional burdens for the insured. The pending care reform must finally come. It must not become a savings-driven reform. It must put those affected and their relatives at centre stage.

She also pointed to Linnemann's election pledge to reduce social contributions to 40 percent, something that would be possible only if the federal government financed non-insurance benefits from tax revenues. Bundesärztekammer president Klaus Reinhardt told Funke newspapers that Linnemann stands for the modernization of the health system.

Merz defends his pick

Chancellor Merz backed the appointment, saying the health sector needs "a minister who is both steadfast and willing to reform, even in the face of headwinds."

We need a minister who is both steadfast and willing to reform, even in the face of headwinds.

Merz noted that Linnemann had been responsible for health policy during the coalition negotiations and was familiar with the topics, calling the health sector the "fastest growing sector of our economy" with a "well-functioning industry." Linnemann himself had previously criticised the large number of health insurers; in April he told RTL that having over 90 insurers with essentially identical services involved enormous administrative overhead and argued that ten would be enough.