Top German court nominee withdraws after conservative backlash

A legal scholar nominated by Germany's centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) to serve on the country's highest court has withdrawn her candidacy following intense conservative opposition.

In a statement released on Thursday through her law firm, Frauke Brosius-Gersdorf said she was no longer available for the role on the Constitutional Court, citing staunch resistance from members of the centre-right bloc in parliament.

The law professor said it was made "very clear" to her that conservative lawmakers in the Bundestag "categorically" rejected her candidacy.

Brosius-Gersdorf's announcement comes after she was thrust into a political storm that called into the question the stability of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's young coalition government.

The Bundestag - Germany's lower house of parliament - had been set to vote on Brosius-Gersdorf and two other nominees in July, but the vote was abruptly cancelled.

Lawmakers from Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU) voiced strong objections to Brosius-Gersdorf, citing her past public comments in support of abortion rights and openness to the idea of mandatory vaccination during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Days before the scheduled vote, a plagiarism watchdog also raised questions about her doctoral thesis.

The failed vote was seen as a blow to the coalition between the SPD and the CDU/CSU. Although the conservatives had initially agreed to support her, the party leadership later indicated they could no longer guarantee the necessary backing among the rank-and-file in parliament.

As a result, the votes for the other two nominees — SPD candidate Ann-Katrin Kaufhold and CDU/CSU pick Günter Spinner — were also postponed.

Brosius-Gersdorf said on Thursday that she was also withdrawing her candidacy in order to "protect" the other two nominees from having their chances derailed.