Overview

• Union MPs withdrew support for SPD candidate Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf over her liberal views and contested plagiarism claims.
• SPD declined to split its vote, prompting a parliamentary vote on three judicial nominees to be shelved until after the summer recess.
• SPD and Greens condemned the Union’s maneuver as leadership failure by Jens Spahn that damaged the credibility of both parliament and the court.
• Germany’s two-thirds majority requirement and the Union’s refusal to work with Die Linke or AfD heighten the need for unified coalition voting.
• This crisis marks the first major fallout for the new CDU-SPD government and raises doubts about its ability to manage future legislative challenges.