Women in politics
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Everything was prepared to make the CSU a model for the sister party CDU. At the Christian Social Party Congress, the Bavarian Women's Union demanded a binding quota of 40 per cent at district level. But the delegates did not join in, and the reform was at best a refresher. The measure was undemocratic, it was said women, not wanting to be elected because of a quota in office, another member spoke of a "Schmarrn", which one did not have to join. The debate raised doubts as to whether the CSU or the Union as a whole could get any further on this issue.
The CSU party congress could have been really inspiring for the sister party. The Bavarian Women's Union had demanded a binding women's quota of 40 percent at district level, so it is already standard at provincial and district level. But then things turned out differently, the motion was dismissed into a weakened part of the reform process with arguments that make it doubtful whether the party or the Union in general can be modernized on this issue.
The women from the sister party CDU see it that way at least. You have submitted an application for the party congress, to be voted on in December. In essence, they demand that the women's quorum, which their predecessors have won in 1996, make it a binding minimum quota. Gradually, this minimum rate should then be "supplemented by further measurable and concrete target agreements to parity with flexible instruments," according to the application, which is available to SPIEGEL.
The explanatory statement states that the quorum binds all party members as a definition in the statute of the CDU, but it is often bypassed in practice. The target of one third of women in party offices is often seen as "the upper limit" - not the minimum.
Zipper procedure on electoral lists
In addition, the women want a binding zipper principle in the candidacy on electoral lists: "The women's quorum should be changed so that under two consecutive list positions at least one woman is to propose." Similar requirements have parties such as the Greens or the Left. As a sample, the CDU in Saxony had quoted the first ten places in the last state election: among the four candidates who moved into the parliament through the list, there were three women. But overall, the impact of direct mandates was evident: out of 45 CDU seats in the state parliament, only nine are women.
Above all else, if a major party like the CDU wants to achieve equal rights, it must ensure that more women compete as direct candidates. In the opinion of the Women's Union, the directors should therefore work for direct candidates, especially in promising electoral constituencies, "for a generally even and balanced participation of women and men" - from municipal to federal elections.
The women want to promote these guidelines through internal financial equalization: Associations that meet the minimum requirement of one-third of women or more should therefore receive financial incentives. Of a punishment is in the paper, however, nothing.
Whether the application at the party congress has a chance is difficult to assess. There should be a lot of resistance: from the Junge Union and the Economic Union, for example. At least, however, party leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has promised women in the Union a debate over the percentage of women in the party. It would be "a failure," she said after her election as CDU chairman, if the CDU does not manage to send more women into the Bundestag. Moreover, the topic seems -100 years after the introduction of women's suffrage - just virulent. More and more members of the Union call themselves "feminists", in Brandenburg and Thuringia a parity law was recently introduced.
Annette Widmann-Mauz: Representation of Women is "Democracy Question"
The head of the Women's Union, Annette Widmann-Mauz, sees the representation of women in politics as a "democracy issue": "Women are half of the population." This reality must also be reflected in the composition of our parliaments. "
But the Union is one of the parties with the lowest proportion of women: In the past 20 years, it has barely grown from 25 to 26 percent, according to the report on political equality presented by Kramp-Karrenbauer at the 2018 CDU party convention , So, where is the frequent criticism, should the many women come for the office? Therefore, in its application, the Women's Union calls for a staff development concept aimed at attracting, promoting and involving women. But Widmann-Mauz is already confident: "We have enough potential to fill the positions."