Kommentar: Eine Bundespräsidentin war mehr als überfällig
Nach zwölf männlichen Bundespräsidenten soll mit Ilse Aigner erstmals eine Frau in Bellevue einziehen – endlich! Einen Orden verdient der Kanzler dafür aber nicht.
The German Federal President should have arrived much sooner. For weeks, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz hesitated, and Berlin's government circles became fixated on the guessing game. Everyone had an opinion on who should succeed Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the Bellevue Palace, but nobody was certain. Then Chancellor Merz made his decision, naming Ilse Aigner, a prominent CSU politician and former Lower Bavarian State Parliament president, as the next head of state.
It's high time that the next Federal President is a woman, as it's long overdue. From Theodor, Heinrich, Gustav, Walter, Karl, Richard, Roman, Johannes, Horst, Christian, Joachim, to Frank-Walter, there have been twelve Federal Presidents in just 77 years, all men. Despite several female candidates in the Federal Assembly, including Annemarie Renger (SPD), Gesine Schwan (SPD), and Dagmar Schipanski (Union), it seemed the right time never arrived, at least not according to those making the decisions.
The argument was simply repeated endlessly and fruitlessly. Those who wished to hear it could, and those who had to decide could delay indefinitely.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
