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New SPD parliamentary group with party chairman Esken, parliamentary group leader Mützenich, chancellor candidate Scholz in the center
Photo: Frederic Kern / imago images / Future Image
The SPD, the Greens and the FDP are negotiating a progress coalition.
Traditionally, the largest parliamentary group in the Bundestag, the SPD, holds the office of President of the Bundestag.
All signals indicate that the SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich will soon be nominated for this office.
We share the high esteem for Rolf Mützenich.
However, his vocation for the credibility of the party, which won the election with the key words “respect” and “participation”, would not be a signal of new beginnings and progress.
You have to keep in mind: If the traffic light coalition came, all five posts at the head of the state would be occupied by men - the Federal President, the President of the Bundestag, the Chancellor, the President of the Bundesrat and the President of the Federal Constitutional Court.
In 2021, such a decision will seem out of date.
Not only female voters, but also progressive voters will have even less understanding when women are left behind at the end of the severe corona crisis.
During this time, we have repeatedly pointed out that the progress made over the past few decades with regard to equality between men and women in work and family work has suffered significant damage.
Politics, especially the parties that stand for equality and participation, therefore have a role model function.
The SPD in particular, which historically and programmatically stands for progress and respect, needs to have a sensorium when it comes to filling the five top positions in the state.
We appeal to you, as members of the SPD parliamentary group, to become aware of the social significance and even explosive power of the upcoming decision for the nomination of the office of President of the Bundestag.
From a social democratic point of view, how should a progressive coalition and a program of respect for one's own voters be represented responsibly if the participation of women is disregarded in the first decision?
This is all the more true as there are highly qualified women in the SPD parliamentary group who are experienced in parliamentary work and who would do it justice and exercise it well.
