BERLIN - A highly emotional dispute over the appointment of a Supreme Court judge in Germany has exposed deepening divisions within the fresh coalition government of conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Politico reported.
The dispute, which includes controversial plagiarism allegations and a heated debate over abortion, threatens to undermine Merz's centrist coalition just two months after the chancellor took office.
"It's not a good day for democracy in our country," said on Friday about the clash Dirk Wiese, deputy chairman of the parliamentary faction of the centre-left Social Democratic Party.
Merz's conservative bloc refused to support Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf, a judge nominated by his SPD coalition partners, citing new allegations that she plagiarised her doctoral thesis in 1997. Left-wing politicians say the plagiarism charge is false and that the real reason for the conservative opposition to the judge is her relatively progressive stance on abortion.
The parliamentary vote on Brosius-Gersdorf's appointment, scheduled for Friday, was postponed after conservatives asked the SPD to withdraw the judge from the selection. SPD politicians reacted indignantly.
"We are witnessing a highly qualified candidate with an impeccable career and wide professional recognition being the victim of a baseless smear campaign," said Wiese, an SPD MEP.
Six conservative politicians, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Politico this week that they were among two or three dozen lawmakers who planned to reject Brosius-Gersdorf because of her views on abortion. Leaders of Merz's conservative bloc have been trying to persuade those lawmakers to drop their opposition in recent days, but have failed, according to the lawmakers.
This conflict highlights not only the emerging differences within the coalition, but also its relative fragility given the government's weak parliamentary majority and the rise of radical parties. The popularity of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is now the second largest party in the German Bundestag, means that Merz's centrist coalition controls only 52 percent of parliamentary seats, making it particularly vulnerable to even minor disputes and rank-and-file defections.
Politico/gnews.cz - GH
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