As of: 01/18/2023 4:56 p.m
It’s a man. With his decision for Pistorius as defense minister, Chancellor Scholz breaks his promise of parity for the cabinet. Where is the outcry from the SPD women?
On the day when Boris Pistorius was announced as the successor to Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht, relief was seen on the faces of many SPD MPs. Some were happy that they did not have to change their ministerial post, such as Labor Minister Hubertus Heil. Others were happy that another Lower Saxony would find their way to Berlin, such as SPD party chairman Lars Klingbeil.
And still others were just glad that this debate is now over. So some people found it annoying to talk about parity and the promise that Chancellor Scholz made on November 27, 2020: “At least half of the cabinet that I lead as Chancellor is made up of women.”
The cabinet has been in existence for a year – and he already had to break this promise. Now nine men and seven women will sit in the cabinet, not counting the chancellor. Now one could expect the big outcry, especially from young SPD women. Just a year ago they were referred to as the “young wild ones”, the Jusos, who now want to change a lot.
Lambrecht goes, a man comes. The chancellor wanted it that way.
Image: dpa
Be silent. No comment
But nothing comes. Just one young social democrat raised the issue of parity in the internal parliamentary group meeting: Yes, they support the decision for Pistorius, but again point out the importance of parity.
Externally, there is largely silence – one does not want to question the chancellor’s decision. So you don’t hear anything from Juso chairwoman Jessica Rosenthal – silence, no comment.
Even before the chancellor’s decision, the chairwoman of the Working Group of Social Democratic Women (ASF), Maria Noichl, warned: “Fifty-Fity must continue to apply, that’s what the SPD stands for.” A society that consists of more than 50 percent women should also be reflected in the cabinet. So much for the requirement. But shortly after the decision, no reaction was heard from this women’s association either. She seemed to have ducked. On request, a tweet by MP Noichl is pointed out. She respects the chancellor’s decision and wishes the new defense minister the best of luck. However, the demand remains and the 50/50 promise must be corrected in the next possible reshuffle. The subject of parity so first on resubmission.
Criticism comes from the Greens
That’s not enough for the Greens, they repeatedly say how important parity was for the replacement. “An SPD chancellor has no place at his cabinet table for strong women,” said Silke Gebel, leader of the Berlin Greens parliamentary group, on Twitter. And Nyke Slawik, member of the Greens, also criticizes the fact that several extremely qualified women were interviewed. “It’s a shame that the chancellor and the SPD have given up the self-imposed goal of parity in the cabinet,” she commented on Twitter.
The woman who was traded as a possible candidate for the job as defense minister, the military commissioner Eva Högl, does not want to comment on the issue of parity. in the ZDFinterview, she avoids the question of whether the SPD women are angry. The list of women who do not want to comment or who are evasive could be continued.
Yes to Pistorius, yes to parity
The parity issue is not an easy one. SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert “doesn’t want to put it nicely” that parity has not been preserved, he explains in the ARD. But: It was an individual decision for a person that had to be made quickly by the chancellor. A formulation that is now often heard from the SPD. In other words, the chancellor wanted it that way.
Katja Mast, parliamentary director of the SPD parliamentary group, also defended the personnel. It was a wise decision, Pistorius could take people with him, he was the right one. The topic of parity remains on the SPD agenda, it is also a very specific SPD topic, in which the party has already fought a lot. Incidentally, parity is also expected from the other coalition partners in the traffic light. And so the SPD points above all to the FDP, which has sent three men and one woman to the cabinet.
But it is clear that the chancellor will continue to be measured against his promise of parity. So what if SPD Interior Minister Nancy Faeser should move to Hesse as the top candidate for the state elections? If she goes completely to Hesse, the Ministry of the Interior cannot be given to a man – at least the SPD women agree on that. And the chancellor? He will probably announce his decision about a possible successor regulation – if he thinks that the time has come.