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Combine mandate and family

2022-10-25T06:50:36.344Z


Combine mandate and family Created: 10/25/2022, 8:44 am By: Dieter Roettig Local councilor Anna Klinke has her first baby around New Year's Eve and would like to continue exercising her mandate: ideally in the context of hybrid meetings while breastfeeding. © Roettig Schondorf – Whether in big politics or in local politics, the problem is the same: if a member of parliament, city, district or


Combine mandate and family

Created: 10/25/2022, 8:44 am

By: Dieter Roettig

Local councilor Anna Klinke has her first baby around New Year's Eve and would like to continue exercising her mandate: ideally in the context of hybrid meetings while breastfeeding.

© Roettig

Schondorf – Whether in big politics or in local politics, the problem is the same: if a member of parliament, city, district or municipal councilor has a baby, it is often difficult to take part in important meetings, at least in the first few months.

In the Schondorf municipal council, the young CSU councilor Anna Klinke is looking forward to her first baby.

The girl is due around New Year's Eve.

Bettina Hölzle, parliamentary group spokeswoman for the CSU, would like to enable her colleague to take part in municipal council and committee meetings during the breastfeeding phase.

Not in person, but via a video conference.

At the current meeting, Hölzle submitted a motion to change the rules of procedure with regard to the introduction of hybrid meetings.

This makes the mandate more compatible with family and career.

After all, women are underrepresented in politics.

Their share is stagnating or even shrinking.

It is essential to prevent women from resigning their political mandates if they are not accommodated.


Since March 2021, the Bavarian Municipal Code has allowed hybrid types of meetings.

The local authorities have the opportunity here to regulate participation in meetings by means of image and sound transmission.

As Mayor Alexander Herrmann explained, just over seven percent of the municipalities have been using this instrument so far.

It usually only comes into play in tense corona situations.


The opinion of the Schondorfer municipal councils was divided.

While Rainer Jiinger (CSU) pleaded for it because more participation was required everywhere, Stefanie Windhausen-Grellmann (Greens) spoke out against it.

Professionally, she advises large companies on this topic and therefore knows the enormous challenges in technology.

It is not enough to have a notebook in front of you and to help shape and follow a full session.


Also a serious argument against it: How can one ensure that unauthorized persons can follow the session outside of the non-public part?


The CSU parliamentary group emphasized that the focus will continue to be on face-to-face meetings.

The hybrid solution is only used in special situations such as quarantine or breastfeeding.

Finally, the committee agreed to obtain offers from the administration for the technical equipment and the costs.

On this basis one would like to consult further.


baby on board


The first few months with a politician's baby are treated differently in Germany.

In Sindelfingen, for example, a Green Councilor takes her baby to all meetings and goes to the furthest corner to breastfeed.

The mayor was impressed after the first meeting with Baby Philipp: It had a positive impact and never before had discussions been so disciplined.

The Thuringian state government in Erfurt did not see things that relaxed.

The President had the Green MP Madeleine Henfling thrown out of the hall because she had brought her newborn with her.

You are much further along in the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Babies and small children can often be seen here in the plenum.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-10-25

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