Uproar in the Bundestag: Election of constitutional judges causes excitement!

Uproar in the Bundestag: Election of constitutional judges causes excitement!

It is a turbulent day in the Bundestag: on July 18, 2025, the election of three constitutional judges failed. This event marks a unique political scandal in the history of the Federal Republic, as such an election has never before been involved in such a dispute. The stumbling block was the candidacy of Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf, who was withdrawn by the Union faction after discussions about her suitability became more heated. radiobonn.de reports that Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker, a member of the CDU/CSU, was the first to publicly protest against her own party and Brosius-Gersdorf.

Winkelmeier-Becker and Brosius-Gersdorf had previously worked together on a commission to revise abortion regulations. But now Winkelmeier-Becker described Brosius-Gersdorf as “unelectable” and justified this with “not our view of humanity”. Their clear position quickly led to a withdrawal of support, ultimately leading to today's upset election.

scandal and accusations

Critical points surrounding the candidate are, above all, her liberal views on abortion and the wearing of the Muslim headscarf. According to deutschlandfunk.de, Brosius-Gersdorf said as early as 2024 that the guarantee of human dignity only applies from birth. This is in direct contradiction to an earlier ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court from 1993. It has also stated in the past that wearing the headscarf does not violate the state's requirement of neutrality.

The Union had originally advertised for Brosius-Gersdorf. But internal concerns, particularly allegations of plagiarism in her doctoral thesis, led to further upheaval. The plagiarism checker Stefan Weber reported 23 suspected irregularities that could speak against their scientific suitability. Despite these allegations, the University of Hamburg rejected an examination of her dissertation as inappropriate. The Bundestag decided to postpone the vote to a later date, which assumed broad support from the parliamentary groups, while the AfD voted against.

Political consequences

Brosius-Gersdorf is running as one of the two SPD candidates. The opposition agrees that the election should take place after the summer break, although the Union continues to insist on the proposal for a new candidate, Günter Spinner. In addition to Brosius-Gersdorf, the SPD also nominated Ann-Katrin Kaufhold. The government as a whole faces the challenge of achieving the required two-thirds majority as it relies on votes from other factions. Support from the Greens is essential, although they have already signaled that they could agree.

The chaos surrounding the election not only represents a stress test for the coalition, but also offers insights into deeper social and political currents within the parties. The debate increasingly revolves around the personal views of the candidates rather than their actual legal qualifications. Peter Müller, former constitutional judge, emphasizes the need to separate qualifications from political views. It remains to be seen how things will calm down by the next meeting in September.