Overview

• The CDU announced its seven ministers, including Karsten Wildberger as head of the newly created Ministry for Digitalization and State Modernization, marking a focus on modernization.
• Katherina Reiche, an energy manager and former Bundestag member, will become Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, the first East German to hold this role.
• Johann Wadephul will lead the Foreign Ministry, returning it to CDU control after nearly 60 years, while Thorsten Frei, a close Merz ally, becomes Head of the Federal Chancellery.
• The CSU confirmed three ministers: Alexander Dobrindt as Interior Minister, Dorothee Bär for Research, Technology, and Space, and Alois Reiner for Agriculture.
• Internal tensions emerged as CDU state associations from Hessen, Niedersachsen, and Sachsen-Anhalt expressed dissatisfaction over a lack of cabinet representation.