Jens Spahn, until recently the parliamentary leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU), its sister party, is deficient in sharp political instincts.(延斯·施潘，直到最近还是德国基民盟和基社盟的议会党团领袖，他缺乏敏锐的政治直觉。) On July 15th Mr Spahn said on social media and in an interview with Bild, a tabloid, that he and his husband had had a baby boy via a surrogate in America. Unfortunately for him, that looked to voters like(在选民看来像是) brazen(厚颜无耻的) hypocrisy(虚伪，伪善). Surrogacy is illegal in Germany and Mr Spahn, a conservative former health minister, had argued that it should remain so. Three days later he resigned.
延斯·施潘，直到最近还是德国基督教民主联盟（基民盟）及其姊妹党基督教社会联盟（基社盟）的议会党团领袖，他缺乏敏锐的政治直觉。7月15日，施潘在社交媒体和接受小报《图片报》采访时表示，他和丈夫通过代孕在美国有了一个男婴。对他而言不幸的是，这在选民看来是厚颜无耻的虚伪。代孕在德国是非法的，而身为保守派前卫生部长的施潘曾主张应维持这一禁令。三天后，他辞职了。
Mr Spahn’s departure is awkward(尴尬的，棘手的) for Friedrich Merz, the chancellor. The pair are not close: in 2018 Mr Spahn ran against Mr Merz for the CDU’s leadership. But Mr Spahn had a good relationship with Matthias Miersch, his opposite number(对应职位的人) in the Social Democratic Party, and was effective at managing the quarrelsome(爱争吵的，好斗的) coalition between their two parties.
施潘的离职令总理弗里德里希·默茨处境尴尬。两人并不亲近：2018年施潘曾与默茨竞争基民盟领导权。但施潘与社会民主党的对应人物马蒂亚斯·米尔施关系良好，并善于管理两党之间争吵不休的联盟。
The pair brokered(促成，斡旋) a comprehensive reform package, a 34-point “programme for growth and employment”, finalised on July 1st. Its most important elements are reforming the ailing(状况不佳的，衰弱的) public-pension system and providing tax relief for low- and middle-income earners. The government needs to deliver such measures if it is to have any chance of heading off(阻止，拦截) the hard-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in state elections in eastern Germany in September. Without Mr Spahn’s dealmaking nous(智慧，常识), the coalition could return to disarray(混乱，紊乱).
两人促成了一套全面的改革方案，即7月1日敲定的34点“增长与就业计划”。其最重要的内容是改革状况不佳的公共养老金体系，并为中低收入者提供税收减免。如果政府要在9月东德州选举中有任何机会阻止极右翼的德国选择党（AfD），就必须落实这些措施。没有施潘的谈判智慧，联盟可能重新陷入混乱。
Walk the plank
被迫走跳板（被迫辞职）