(ANSA) - BERLIN, JUL 19 - Following the resignation of Union faction leader Jens Spahn (CDU), German Chancellor Friedrich Merz did not rule out a cabinet reshuffle. "This could be an opportunity to reconsider the composition of the government," he said during his summer interview with ZDF, though he repeatedly emphasized that this was merely a possibility. Merz had been asked whether he had considered a broader reshuffling of government personnel. Following Spahn's resignation, Merz aims to reach a decision on his successor as parliamentary group leader before the summer recess, scheduled to begin in late July, as learned by the Deutsche Presse-Agentur from sources close to the CDU leader. Among the potential candidates for the "post-Spahn" era, first and foremost there are the head of the Chancellery, Thorsten Frei, and the CDU's secretary-general, Carsten Linnemann, first and foremost. (ANSA).