Die Unbeugsamen (2021) - full transcript

- Good morning, Dr Lüders.
- Good morning.

May we do a quick
interview with you?

Okay, but just a minute
and not a second longer!

Then I have to leave
this wonderful place, I'm afraid.

- I don't want to end up under a car either.
- No!

- All the best on your 80th birthday.
- Thank you.

And congratulations
on your honorary doctorate.

We'd like to ask
you a few questions.

How close are we to achieving

your greatest goal:
equal rights for women?

We've come some way,
but we're not there yet.



If we don't continue to fight, we'll
lose what we've achieved so far.

- May I ask you another question?
- Okay.

You're known in the Bundestag for
your excellent mediating skills.

How do you view
the role of women as mediators

in the business of politics today?

Politics today would not be possible
without the mediating influence of women

because men
have a strong tendency to quarrel

and women have an equally
strong tendency to reconcile.

- Thank you.
- My pleasure.

FEMOCRACY

DEAR GENTLEMEN

Power is viewed as something
unfeminine. I've never understood that.

I can remember the first
major event I was involved in,

with Susanne von Paczensky,
and Eva Rühmkorf in Berlin.



Big posters everywhere.
I was so proud.

And the posters said: "Women and power?"
So with a question mark at the end.

I was the only person on the panel

who said I didn't see
the point of the question mark.

That I want to have power, that
power is not something bad per se.

Rather, the way that people
wield this power can be bad

and this should be questioned.

But if I'm powerless,
I'm not able to influence anything.

And precisely because I'm a woman, I
don't want to be without influence.

I want power
so that I can have a say

and fight for things
that matter to me.

My German teacher always told me
in no uncertain terms:

"Ursula, politics
is not a feminine pursuit."

And the more she said that to me,

the more I exasperated her,
of course.

She motivated me to get
more and more involved in politics.

When I got my school
leaving certificate, she said,

"We wish you all
the best for the future,

that you become another
Hamm-Brücher, but with our values."

Hamm-Brücher was
a Bavarian politician

with a combative approach, who
did a lot for educational policy,

but her combative way
was not the convent school's style.

So I was allowed
to follow in her footsteps,

as long as I stuck to their values.

Since entering
Bavarian State Parliament in 1950,

Hildegard Hamm-Brücher has fought
to improve educational policy.

Her independent spirit,
moral courage and expertise

have made her one of the best-known
cultural policymakers in Germany.

And what is currently
her most pressing political goal?

Improvements to the external and internal
conditions in schools for our children

are urgently required,

but have unfortunately been
neglected all too often in the past.

My mother really
urged me to study hard.

She hadn't got
her school leaving certificate,

so she said,
"Make sure you study, my girl!

No one can take
that knowledge away from you."

My father was more conservative
in these matters

and said, "Don't learn too much, my
girl. You'll never find a husband!"

A woman faces
two questions in life:

What should I wear?
And what should I cook?

That was the image of the woman.

The man is the provider, the
woman is the housewife and mother

and once he's reached a certain
position, she makes it possible for him

to invite guests to the house,

to entertain and
lead a social life.

And she can use her own education
to nurture and develop the children.

I remember a girl in my class…

We were at a grammar school,

and she said she
wanted to study maths.

We were her classmates
and even we fell off our chairs

because we just couldn't imagine
a girl studying maths.

Whenever a woman or a girl
marched to a different tune,

it was made clear to her that
she was breaking with convention.

"Ah, she will get married"
followed me everywhere I went.

Up to and including
the time I went to university.

When I started studying law in Berlin,
less than 10% of the students were women.

Or in lectures in Hamburg
when the famous Professor Raape

addressed the lecture hall
with "dear gentlemen…"

in spite of the fact that I and
the few other girls in the hall

had purposely sat in the front row,
he continued to use "gentlemen".

MRS MINISTER

"… I still have the right
to speak here!"

"You have entrusted me with the
task of leading the German Reich."

"The reunification of our free
fatherland, this is our ultimate goal."

"We want to take a chance
on more democracy."

"There will be no experiments
in the area of foreign policy!"

"No experiments
because they would lead

to the downfall
of the German people once again."

I was at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation
yesterday, looking at the photos:

nothing but black suits.

Photos of the leading committees
and ministers back then.

Black suits
and not a woman to be seen.

At some point I said,
"You can't have half a democracy.

A nation is made up
of both men and women."

In general, I believe that women

have something to offer
in all areas, including politics.

There's even a chance that a woman
could become a federal minister.

I bet it'd liven up
cabinet meetings, Minister.

But not just as décor, I hope!

I'd like to believe

there's many a capable woman
in this grand country of ours

with the expertise required
to add something

to the men's complex discussions
on order and the country's future.

Yes, I was very serious just now: women
can contribute to cabinet meetings

in a way that men can't,
don't you think, Minister?

I do believe that women can help us
with our work, also in the cabinet.

That was my first
really significant experience

as a member of the Bundestag.

The female CDU MPs
were summoned by Mrs Brauksiepe.

We decided to ask
for a woman on every committee.

And Adenauer hadn't appointed
a single woman to the cabinet.

Then four female MPs went to see Adenauer.
Mrs Brauksiepe in an elegant little hat.

WOMEN AND THE CONFLICTING
PRIORITIES OF TODAY'S SOCIETY

"Have the demeanour of a lady
and fight like a warhorse."

Aenne Brauksiepe, CDU

And then they came back and said,
"We've done it!"

And we enthusiastically backed
Dr Schwarzhaupt.

She was fantastic.

She became Minister of Health,
but that wasn't all she did.

As a very young woman,

she was also in Stresemann's
German People's Party

in a leading administrative role.

Then she was very active
in the Confessing Church

and then after the war she was
active in the rebuilding efforts.

Dr Schwarzhaupt
did a really good job

and introduced a lot of new things.

Such as food labelling and other
things that hadn't existed before.

I swear, so help me God.

"Consider yourself
a gentleman amongst gentlemen!"

Konrad Adenauer, 1961

Dr Schwarzhaupt, your appointment
as Germany's first female minister

leaves us with the small dilemma
of how address you.

"Minister"
or the female form "Ministerin"?

I would say "Ministerin",
as I am a woman

and as the German language

has a male and a female form
for these kinds of words.

This may appear a little ungallant,
but is it perhaps worth considering

whether a woman in politics should
or must hold a particular position

just because she is a woman?

Your question doesn't
strike me as that ungallant.

It's a question I've faced for
20 years, wherever I've worked.

But personally, I've had
very encouraging experiences

which have shown me that
women are capable of a great deal,

because people often expect
a lot of us in other areas.

And we contribute
something different to a man.

If I were to work like a man
and talk like a man,

I may as well have sent
my husband here 20 years ago.

But this isn't the case.
"Vive la difference", if you will.

We all make our own unique
contribution to get the job done.

REBEL WOMEN

- There's no one around to decide.
- Gentlemen!

In the hour of need,
decisive decisions must be decided!

And in the history of humankind,
there were always plucky women

who stepped in to save the day.

I'm the firm's longest-serving
employee, so I'm in command here!

Good heavens!

The women fought their battles
alone at first, each to her own.

And then in the 1970s, women
discovered each other, as it were,

women who were
in the same situation.

We stopped competing against each other
for that one post allocated to a woman.

Instead, we joined forces to fight for
the creation of more "women's posts".

I started to get interested in politics
and to take part in political events.

Up until then,
I didn't believe in my abilities…

I should add that I was married to
someone who didn't believe in them either.

And I started to go to political
events and suddenly I realised:

"Oh, people listen
when you make a point."

I suddenly felt two metres taller
and really validated,

and worked up the courage
to really get involved.

How do you manage to balance
your career and your family life?

Unfortunately, this is a question that
people only ask female politicians.

You have to make compromises

and organise your
life a bit differently,

but you manage it,
just like business women

and farmer's wives do.

The father of my children couldn't
deal with this new role at all.

Suddenly I'd stopped being the person
who idolised him as "lord and master"

and kept my mouth shut.

I developed my own opinions. He
couldn't handle it and we separated.

In '68 I did my final exams in Berlin
and then went back to Tübingen,

where I was chair of the
district authority for a while.

And then from 1970, I led the
Social Democrat women's wing

in Baden-Württemberg,

somewhat to the horror
of the top brass in the region.

They weren't too happy
about our good-natured "onslaught".

Because of course we said that in the
upcoming local government elections

we wanted to increase the share
of women on the municipal councils

by at least 50 percent,
if not more.

And to achieve this, we examined
the internal party regulations,

worked out how to
put together a budget,

how to present ourselves,

how men typically behave
when they're on committees

how they negate women,
how we can tackle this, and so on.

We really enjoyed it,
and it was a success, too.

My name is Herta Däubler-Gmelin,
I'm 29 years old,

I've been an MP since 19 November,
and I'm also a Swabian.

"In parliament a woman
on her own is like a flower,

en masse, they are like weeds."

Throughout history
A wind of emancipation has blown

From humans to infusoria

Women everywhere
want to seize the throne

From the Amazons
to the little madams in Berlin

A thundering roar can be heard

"What the men can do
we learned long ago

And maybe we can do it better too!"

Out of the Reichstag, out they go!

Out of the Landtag, out they go!

Out of their manly manors,
out they go!

We'll make them ours,
don't you know?

Get the men out of here

Get the men out of there

Get the men out of everywhere

They've been around too long,
I swear

Out of that house, out they trot

It's time that the
women had a shot!

- May I?
- Be my guest.

Try that on with the matron,
Mr Körtler.

- You'll get a smack in the face.
- Well, she might not like it.

But you do.
It's clear as day.

You're mistaken.

I'm going easy on you
because you're sick.

I don't feel that sick, actually.

The cheek!

- What's up?
- Oh, nothing…

- Some people think nurses are fair game!
- It's just harmless fun.

Before the summer recess, there was a big
education policy debate in the Bundestag

and I was giving the last speech.

I made my way back to my seat
and when I was halfway there,

Stücklen blocked my path and said,

"Ms Schuchardt…" And then
he ran his thumb down my back.

And suddenly
he gave the CSU a thumbs-up.

I said, "What was that about?"

"We made a bet:
Is she wearing a bra or not?"

So I said, "And?"
"She's not."

Someone must have
tipped off the press.

The summer recess was over and
I thought, "Oh, God, how terrible!"

So I went to the
Executive Committee HQ

and said, "Mr Stücklen, I'm sorry.
I didn't tell the press."

And he actually said to me,
"Oh, don't worry, Ms Schuchardt,

it boosted my liberal image."

You had to learn to
fend off the advances

without becoming the man's arch
enemy in the parliamentary group.

Let me put this bluntly:
we have nothing against old men,

nor do we have anything against
old women, or against young women.

I'll just add that too. But… but…

Dear Ms… Ms Nickels,
Ms Hickel, Ms Vollmer, Ms Schoppe,

we'll all grow old one day.

It's true that some of you
look pretty good, but…

But… back to the topic of old men,
I'll say this much:

the ravages of time
are also taking their toll on you,

I'll just point that out.

You really had to master this game:

fend him off,
but don't slight him as a man.

It was the same
in all parliamentary groups.

And I'm sorry to say that
journalists also made passes on us.

One of the most taboo subjects
in the political arena

is the private life
of politicians in Bonn.

A Sunday paper and the Greens have
now lifted this veil of discretion.

The Green Party MP Klaus
Hecker from Kronberg in Hessen

has come under fire

for allegedly groping the breasts of
Green Party parliamentary group staff,

to put it rather crudely.

Ms Schoppe, is there any truth to
the allegations against Mr Hecker?

Yes, Mr Hecker did indeed
touch the breasts of three women.

Wouldn't it be better to solve
this conflict on a personal level

instead of reaching
for the political cudgel?

A slap in the face
wouldn't have been unreasonable.

If it had been an
isolated incident,

a conflict between Klaus Hecker
and one woman, but it's not.

It's a problem in society
and we want to highlight this.

What do you think about
breast-grabbing and bum-pinching?

- It's a hot topic.
- No one does that to me anymore!

You shouldn't do it at work, but in
your free time, I think it's fine.

If it was something extra special,
then I would do it.

Have you ever thought
of doing something like that?

- Thought about it? I've done it!
- And what happened?

Nothing. The woman said it was
nice. But I wasn't in the Bundestag.

I looked after VIPs at the airport,

all the politicians who were "in"
back then: Strauß, Stücklen…

I have to say that during
my time working at the airport,

I didn't only see the politicians
in a positive light.

When I think of the MeToo debate and
some of the men I was looking after,

who got onto the plane in the
morning, drunk out of their minds,

I could tell a story or two.

I have been touched
and experienced other things.

I was at one of Richard Stücklen's events
when I was starting out in politics.

I came in and he said, "She's not
married. But she's not that ugly."

I would just have loved to…

If all those people hadn't been
there, I would have slapped him.

A helping hand for
lawyer Friedrich Bohl,

a member of Hesse State
Parliament since 1970.

His next stop: Bonn.

Richard Stücklen explains to Mrs
Bohl what she has let herself in for.

If my wife hadn't showed me
so much understanding,

I would never have achieved
what I have in politics

- over the last 31 years.
- I bet!

You won't get anywhere
if you don't have the right wife.

Some people also trivialise
the MeToo debate today.

If women had spoken out sooner, people
in these areas might have developed

a different kind of awareness.

GERMANY
UNDER THE COVERS

I'd like to say a few words
about yesterday evening,

ladies and gentlemen.

The loutish behaviour here last
night was simply unacceptable.

You really have to raise your game,
gentlemen,

to stop the values of this house
going completely to the dogs.

The debate around Paragraph 218
has started once again.

This paragraph,
which sets out certain conditions

to allow a woman to
terminate a pregnancy,

has not lessened the suffering women
must endure when they have an abortion.

If you listen to it again,
it was a very unemotional speech.

She didn't really raise her voice.

She spoke rather quietly.

She probably knew what was coming
and was bracing herself.

We are in a society which is
standardising living conditions,

creating standard fashions,
standard flats,

standard opinions,
and also standard morals.

As a result, we now have couples
going to bed in the evening

and performing a standard drill
before going to sleep.

Which often involves the man performing
a reckless act of penetration.

I say reckless, because most men

do not take any steps
to prevent pregnancy.

I admired her for it.

I probably wouldn't have chosen those
words in the Bundestag at that time,

but I agreed with them.

That speech was a moment to rejoice

for all women interested or
involved in the women's movement.

No one had ever spoken like that
in the Bundestag before.

We are calling for spousal rape
to be made a punishable act.

We are asking you
to finally acknowledge

that women also have a right to determine
what happens to their bodies and lives.

We are asking all of you

to put a stop to the everyday
sexism here in parliament.

The atmosphere during Waltraud
Schoppe's speech was just disgusting.

Calling someone a "witch"
may not be very nice,

but it's not below the belt.

They shouted out things
that were clearly sexual.

Things like: "No one wants
to sleep with you anyway."

Really nasty things that
I'd never expected MPs to say.

I can see I've
said the right thing:

I've touched a nerve.

It was, well…

it was awkward for
the men at times.

You really felt sorry for the men
who had to make such a racket

when she said certain things

because they felt that their
innermost being was under attack,

that they were no longer accepted
as the natural rulers of the world.

Our male colleagues hadn't realised
how they actually treated us.

To them, we were like
pretty trimmings, little flowers,

but not necessarily
serious politicians

who had as much to say as they did.

It would be a real turning point

if we had a chancellor up here,
for example,

who pointed out to us all

that there are forms of lovemaking
which are sensual

and which completely eliminate
the chance of getting pregnant.

However, you can only talk about
something if you understand it a little.

In all seriousness, I'd never
discuss this with the chancellor.

Anyone whose policies…

whose policies destroy the environment,
and enable inhumane activities,

has forfeited the chance of being part
of the conversation about sensuality.

The floor is yours: Mr Kleinert,
Hanover.

President…

Ladies and gentlemen.

We are not half as uptight

as I would imagine
many people may now think…

after hearing that speech just now.

There are many different people
living in this land,

very healthy, balanced,

and merry people…
merry in a perfectly healthy way.

But they don't make their lifestyle
the topic of a plenary debate.

If I remember correctly, it was
your first speech in the Bundestag

and you're met with this torrent…

of jocularity, but it didn't
feel friendly or relaxed,

at least as far as I saw it…

It was more like you
were being jeered at.

Well, I have to say: I never expected
the parliament to be jocular or relaxed.

And when they started laughing
and attacking me,

I thought to myself: "There's still
a lot of groundwork to be done here."

And that's what us
women plan to do.

WAR AND PEACE

TODAY IN PARLIAMENT

NATO'S DUAL-TRACK DECISION

The foreign policy of this country
is hanging in the balance.

We must not allow
the Soviet Union to succeed,

aided by its colossal efforts
to expand its armaments,

which cannot be justified

by any discernible
defence or security concerns,

in intimidating us here
in Western Europe,

in curtailing our freedom to act
on the political stage

and in breaking our ties
with the United States.

President, ladies and gentlemen, first
I'd like to ask you not to laugh.

The chain around my neck
isn't carnival decoration.

In Hiroshima and Japan, it is more
highly regarded than our Order of Merit.

And I'd ask you to give the chain
the respect it deserves.

It's made up of a thousand cranes.

The crane is Japan's national
symbol for happiness and peace.

And there's an old
legend that goes:

Fold 1,000 cranes and you will be granted
happiness, blessings and a long life.

And after the bomb fell,

a lot of survivors in a state
of misery and desperation,

were emboldened by this thought

and they tried to fold 1,000 cranes

before they died
from the radiation.

In 1982 I helped launch
the peace movement in my region.

And I started
a women's peace movement on purpose

because I realised

that it could help counteract the
negative image of the peace movement,

that everyone was controlled
by Moscow or they were freaks,

that they have nothing better
to do all day than protest,

if mothers, grandmas
and children were part of it.

So we weaved shut the gates of
barracks, organised breakfasts…

The Commanding Officer even turned
up on his bike to take a secret look.

They weren't counting on any of that
and it turned their world upside down.

Ms Nickels,

Your dismay at the consequences of
the disaster in Hiroshima is moving.

I share this dismay,

because as a child

I experienced the night-time bombing raids
in my native Koblenz, which lay in ruins.

I was buried alive twice.

So I know what
horrors war can bring.

I also know from
what he has told me,

that our chancellor Helmut Kohl

also suffered very personal losses
in the war.

Aged 13 he was enlisted
in a school fire-fighting squad

during the bombing
raids in Ludwigshafen.

And his brother died as a soldier.

Well, Helmut Kohl was an emotional
man, it's important to know that.

And I recall getting down from the
lectern and going down those two steps,

and going past
where the chancellor was sitting.

He placed his paw on my shoulder
as a gesture of recognition,

and told me I'd done a good job.

What I find so awful is that
many people in the peace movement

are turning this dispute
into a debate on basic principles.

That they view themselves
as the "public conscience"

and destroy peace within our
country with their intolerance.

I reject the claim that the peace
movement is fear-mongering.

The fearmongers are sitting
over there on the government bench,

spreading fear among us.

If our methods of peaceful
resistance and civil disobedience

transgress legal
regulations and laws,

it's because we rely on a higher
law, the law of our conscience,

and because we know that the
power of the state is not absolute.

Petra Kelly was already an icon
back then. To some, she was a saint.

To others, she was…

They didn't have
a terribly positive opinion of her.

But the women were strong,
they were really strong,

and not just about
the NATO decision.

Another huge issue was Wackersdorf,
the reprocessing plant in Bavaria,

and women were
incredibly active there.

A final word on the children
in the peace movement.

Parents have been shamed

for bringing their children along
to the peace protest on 22 October.

I have three children of my own
and I can tell you this:

it's more the other way around.

Children as young as ten
are taking their parents with them.

Two topics…
Yes, I think that's good.

There are two topics
close to their hearts:

The death of the forests
and expanding armaments.

I'd like to conclude my speech with
a banner carried by young people

which read: "You treat the planet

as if you had another
one in the cellar."

Let's show them
that they were wrong.

It was women, and women
across all political parties,

who approached the debate
on armaments, for example,

by addressing the real problems
far more than the men.

This made me very happy to
feel that something does unite us.

I won't pretend it's all harmonious,
but there is a consensus,

perhaps because they're much more
connected to everyday life.

As long as we're governed by men
who only have missiles on the mind,

and not much else going on
up there, things will not improve.

This country doesn't need new missiles.
What this country needs is new men.

READING THE RIOT ACT

VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE IN
HELMUT SCHMIDT 1 OCTOBER 1982

President.

Dear colleagues.

I cannot express my lack of
confidence in the chancellor

considering that
only a few months ago

I expressed my confidence in him.

I don't think either of these
gentlemen deserve this.

Helmut Schmidt being toppled
without the say of the electorate,

and you, Helmut Kohl, becoming chancellor
without the say of the electorate.

Hildegard Hamm-Brücher
was a very respected politician

who held some really fantastic
speeches in the Bundestag.

She wasn't easy,
nor were her dealings with women.

She wasn't a "woman's woman",
we said back then.

It wasn't a given that she
would stand up for other women.

But then the situation arose
that we're all familiar with…

with the vote of no confidence.

And it was absolutely clear to us

once we'd decided to vote against
it, that she would give the speech.

In my opinion,
both of these courses of action

leave the unsavoury aftertaste
of violated democratic principles.

One could say that they damage
the moral and ethical integrity

of power changeovers.

And this is not…

This is not…

I'm sorry, but that's how I see it. You
don't, and you also made that clear.

This is not an acceptable
course of action.

It was clear to us all that this
speech had set off an earthquake,

and then that this would send
shockwaves throughout the FDP.

Just two years ago,
the voters gave a clear mandate

in favour of a
social-liberal coalition.

So we have to consult the voters

before we change this arrangement.

Handshake between
Dr Hildegard Hamm-Brücher

and Chancellor Helmut Schmidt.

That was a very personal
and succinct explanation

of how she will choose to vote
in the upcoming ballot.

Some of what I have
heard here today, the pleas,

the grievances and the emotions,

can only be viewed

as an attack on our constitution.

When a member of parliament
chooses to express their opinion,

be they male or female members,

and state that they will act
according to their conscience,

and this is then described
as an attack on our constitution…

as an attack on our constitution,

then the leadership of the…

I only intend to say three sentences
and I ask you to please hear me out.

I still have the
right to speak here!

This constitution is a moral
institution of German politics.

And if within this constitution,

whether it suits one person more than
another in a particular situation,

we reach decisions, we work,
we fight for a cause,

this cannot be viewed as immoral,

nor as unchristian,
as the honourable lady suggests.

The MP Dr Helmut Kohl

has been elected as Chancellor
of the Federal Republic of Germany.

For the voters, electing Helmut
Kohl was a serious breach of trust.

It violated what had been promised
before the election.

And we weren't alone:
the people were up in arms.

It went against
the principle of good faith

and that's also why

I was so upset with Genscher,
who'd kept it secret to the last.

We never spoke again.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm a real
veteran of the party conference circuit.

I've attended most of the conferences that
have taken place in Germany since 1967,

but I've never experienced a conference
where so many tears have been shed.

Something really must have happened
within this party.

I hope that you will understand

that as a matter of self-respect in
view of the outcome of these events,

I will not run for
the National Board of the FDP.

There was more to come: for Ingrid
Matthäus-Maier, re-electing Genscher

and approving the power handover in
Bonn meant a loss of face for the FDP

and a new centre-right,
pro-business stance.

Final concerns,
final advice, final objections,

but they will not change her mind: the
FDP is no longer her political home

and for a few moments
the conference

loses its business-like mood
when she explains:

So I have decided
to resign from my posts in the FDP

and to leave the FDP.

She is not the only one
to leave the party that evening,

others hesitate, at a loss.

Will this spark an exodus from
the FDP after the conference?

This is what many fear.

And that's what happened too,
with some tragic results.

I saw friendships

and even marriages fall apart
because of the change of coalition.

Life changed for a lot of us
after that. For me, for example.

There was never any doubt about it.
I could never have voted for Kohl.

And I knew only too well

that my career as a politician
would suffer as a result.

TAKING A CHANCE ON MORE WOMEN

May I introduce you
to the chancellor?

He'll be happy to finally
meet the chairwoman of a…

May I introduce Ms Matthäus? The
chairwoman of our Young Democrats.

So you've already had dealings
with each other?

Oh, yes, we have!

She is paraded around parties in Bonn
like a bird of paradise, a rare specimen,

a woman who, aged 26,

is head of one of the three major
political youth organisations.

But Ingrid Matthäus, new
chairwoman of the Young Democrats,

wants to prove herself
to her political fathers

and would rather challenge than please,
especially her own party chairman.

Many people were surprised
that a woman was made chair

of such a big organisation
for the first time.

Do you think it's normal for a
woman to hold such a position?

It's normal to me and it's not unusual
in our organisation, the Young Democrats,

because we have chairwomen at
municipal, district and state level.

But of course in public life up until
now, it certainly hasn't been the norm.

But I hope that it will encourage
a few other women to follow suit,

even if it doesn't solve the
fundamental problems in our society

which still impede
female emancipation.

I remember
what the German Press Agency wrote,

and they weren't completely wrong:
"aggressive and attractive".

I noticed early on that it can
be a problem as a woman,

if you're active in the party,

if you're decisive,

you have a goal and are determined
to get a majority.

If you were a man,
I'm sure that people would say,

"Oh, he's so decisive,
he has great ideas

and goals he wants to achieve!"

Over all my years in politics,
I can say from experience

that when women say,

"I want this to happen
and I'll fight for it",

it's viewed much more critically
than if a man says it.

A man is viewed as decisive
and not overbearing.

As it never rains but it pours,

our next item is about
the expulsion of men

from the paradise
of the Green front bench,

if indeed it ever was a paradise.

What happened in the Green Party
is something familiar to all,

it seems to be the norm
in the average marriage today:

the women took command.

In a marriage, this happens gently and
almost imperceptibly over many years.

The ladies of the Green Party, however,
managed to railroad it through,

in unsentimental fashion,
using brute force.

The most rotten male chauvinists
couldn't have managed such a feat.

We're trying out something new
and sending a signal

to all women in our party
to get more involved

and to women in other parties.

And we also want to send a signal beyond
the borders of the Federal Republic

to encourage more women
to play a part in politics.

Six women had been elected
to the party executive

and they almost
keeled over with shock.

It's hard to imagine,
but the FAZ newspaper wrote:

"The men dutifully licked
the boots of female emancipation

until they kicked
them to the curb."

Or they talked about
the "gynaecocracy", and I thought:

"My God, if you see a group of men,
you don't say 'urolo…gracy', do you?"

The terms they came up with!

And these were
serious presenters and journalists,

and this stuff just
came out of them.

And everyone wanted
to interview you, of course.

And it was an
interesting experience.

I was standing next to Nowottny
and thought:

"What's going on there?"
Because he was really small.

He had this little transparent stool
which made him taller than me, of course.

"Ah, that's how he does it."
I had a whale of a time!

Christa Nickels' first day

as the newly elected
Green Party Secretary.

On Tuesday, she took over the party helm
in the Bundestag with five other women.

A surprise coup, the background of
which is gradually becoming clearer.

Nervous yet high-spirited,
Nickels starts business

with her colleagues
from other parties.

You shouldn't blow your own trumpet
and I don't want to praise myself,

but I do feel that I got off
to a fairly good start today.

Of course I'm still
rough around the edges,

I still have to settle in
and get the hang of things,

but I've no doubt I'll manage that.

- So gender doesn't count in this job?
- Certainly not.

It's your intellect that counts,
and long hair doesn't stunt that.

When we voted in
the women's executive,

a number of women in the SPD,
left-leaning ones too,

were completely outraged:

"There's no need to throw the
baby out with the bathwater!"

And the women from the CSU,

who had
really socially conservative views,

they were really happy
and congratulated us.

The world had gone topsy-turvy
and we thought,

"What's got into the
women in the SPD?"

I didn't really give
the "feminarchy" in the Green Party

all that much thought.

But what I will say is:

I appreciate men

and think that
the male perspective is important,

but not in that excess.

I congratulated them,
I congratulated them in writing,

and they made that public,
of course.

And then I got an angry letter from
my parliamentary party secretary,

asking me if I'd taken
leave of my senses.

Why was I supporting this nonsense
and even congratulating them?

But without the women in the Green
Party and without the SPD women's quota,

it would never have been possible
in the CDU.

It's a little hard at first
to be faced by a wall of men.

They have particular expectations of
you, they want to see if you'll "man up".

And of course you still face prejudice.
Here's a story from the last election.

I organised a get-together one
Sunday in a village in Upper Bavaria,

which was a lot of work.

After the event,
an elderly farmer came up to me:

"You'll find a good man, my girl. Then
you won't need to do this anymore."

It had to happen then because women
in general were taking a stand.

There was the new women's movement,
Alice Schwarzer,

one thing enabled the other.

Things were happening inside and outside
of parliament, "pollinating" each other.

Stand your ground, don't give in

You have got this far

Don't budge, don't let them win

Stay true to who you are

Under the pavement

There lies a beach

Reach out your hand
and grab a stone from the sand

Don't let anyone tell you

What you should or should not do

You get to have your say

And do things just your way

Under the pavement

There lies a beach

Reach out your hand
and grab a stone from the sand

Dance and give a twirl

You'll never be "their girl"

Scare them away

Laugh loud, now hear me say:
Your turn!

Even old hands
at the party conference circuit

cannot recall seeing as many women

at other events of this kind
as there were at the CDU conference

in Essen's Grugahalle.

Heiner Geißler's vision
of transforming the CDU

into an advocate of a "new partnership",
as the Secretary General calls it,

made the mood at the CDU event
at the heart of the Ruhr Valley

more amicable, and more importantly,
showed that it was looking to the future.

The party wants to achieve
equality between men and women

in everyday life by the year 2000.

An ambitious goal.

In the run-up to this conference,
Heiner Geissler announced

that he would give up his post as
Minister for Family Affairs afterwards

so that he could devote himself
to his duties as General Secretary.

So I said to the Frauenunion: "Ladies,
the time has finally come to demand

the appointment
of a second woman in the cabinet.

Kohl can forget his conference in
Essen if he doesn't pledge to do that."

I assume the CDU doesn't want
to look utterly ridiculous

and will appoint a
second female minister.

I believe that it should
be at least three or four.

The number of CDU female ministers
should at least correspond

to the number of female party members,
considering the party's goals.

This is nothing new,

you know the numbers,
I think it's 21 percent.

- I think we may have to…
- May I comment on that?

- In a minute.
- You keep going off topic.

No, I'll finish my point if I may.

So we'll have to make do
with a second token woman.

And then the ladies replied,

"But then he won't choose one of us.
He'll be really annoyed with us."

And I said, "Well, if you're
too scared, I'll do it on my own."

And it got a lot of
coverage in the press:

"Helmut Kohl
can forget his party conference

if he doesn't pledge to appoint
a second female minister."

And then he informed me,
but not directly, of course:

I shouldn't get any ideas into my head. I
was not going to be the second minister.

Just look at how events unfolded.

Before the conference, after
publication of their principles,

a female politician stuck her neck out
and said, "How about a second minister?"

From then on, it was all negotiated
behind closed doors.

No woman dared say another word.

A very high-profile, capable female
politician said to me, and I quote:

"Oh, we don't want to discuss that,
because we know our Helmut Kohl.

If we mention it again, he'll be so
mad we won't get a second seat."

- Oh no, that's just not true.
- It is! There but for the grace of Kohl.

Kohl said to Schäuble and Geissler:

"I'm not that stupid:
I won't do an Edward Heath

and let a Thatcher on board."

That really amused me
when I heard about that.

But at the party conference,
he had to announce

that a second woman would join the
cabinet and that woman was Rita Süssmuth.

There she is: Professor Rita
Süssmuth, Heiner Geißler's successor.

Up to now, she worked
in social education in Dortmund.

The 48-year-old will become
the new Minister of Family Affairs

in mid-September.

Her appointment
came as a big surprise to many.

You're also said to be very loyal,
but does this loyalty go so far

as to considering yourself
a "transitional" minister?

Well, I am loyal
if the situation and the people

require it and make it possible.

What's really important to me is that
each person is true to themselves.

I am who I am.

My predecessor was a different
person with his own identity.

Very self-assured,
aren't you, Professor?

A number of female MPs in the
CDU and CSU will not be pleased.

Yes, it's true,
we were rather offended

when Rita Süssmuth turned up.

You see, the Union
had been in opposition for so long.

There was no way to move up the ranks,
and the women just ploughed on and on.

I did find it very difficult
at the beginning.

They didn't rate my chances much
in the papers:

"She'll be gone in six months."

I must admit

that this particularly
spurred me on to say:

"That's not what I want.

If I take on this challenge,
I'm going to stick it out."

Rita Süssmuth
didn't have a political background.

She was a woman
with traditional values,

but she was actually
way ahead of her time.

She'd be a good fit
for Angela Merkel's CDU today.

Back then, she was a pure white raven
surrounded by a sea of CDU black.

And they'd got her on board

to give the impression that
they were equipped for the future,

also because of the emerging
women's movement

and the Green Party
women in parliament.

And then she was confronted
with the HIV crisis

and took a completely
unorthodox approach.

Very effective, but very
controversial within her party.

After fierce clashes with Bavaria,
the minister pushed through

her policy of fighting AIDS with
a comprehensive awareness campaign

and counselling,
rather than tough new laws.

Tina, how much are these condoms?

We're not talking about showing
understanding for the homosexual scene.

What is essential here is to make it
clear that this is contra naturam,

which means "against nature", and
is fundamentally deviant behaviour.

We finally have to make protection
of the majority in our society

our top priority
and stop concerning ourselves with

how we can better understand
the margins of society.

We have to make these margins
thinner. We have to thin them out.

We must make it clear to our young people
that this does not offer them a future.

It highlighted all the things
that were still taboo in society:

homosexuals,

who were painted as the villains
spreading AIDS all across our country.

And taking a stand against that

naturally meant that I was often at
odds with the official party line.

At some point, it was common
knowledge that she and Helmut Kohl

had become adversaries.

He was absolutely furious that she
was so different to how he'd imagined

and she was pretty shocked
by the macho posturing,

not only in the case of Kohl,
but in this milieu in general.

Rita Süssmuth on the way
to announcing her candidacy

for the office of
Bundestag President.

She had become a nuisance
to the powers that be in Bonn,

who "promoted her out of the way" into
the second-highest office of state.

We were all outraged.

And we all quickly tried

to get various proposals

off the ground in a way
that would allow them to survive

when she wasn't there anymore
to hold her protective hand

over certain important projects.

If I am elected to this office,

I will remain Rita Süssmuth
and an active politician.

I have no intention
of turning my back on politics.

I really wanted to
remain a minister

and I came out of the meeting
and wasn't one anymore.

For my team,

for our team and for me,

that was a really sad moment,
and I thought I was powerless.

She also made something
of the job of Bundestag President.

Because you can use the office
in very different ways.

And she really did a lot
to advance women's issues.

Whatever the topic,
she never failed to address

sensitive points
and take people to task.

Of course, at first people thought,
"Now she's quiet. We've silenced her."

But she knew that they hoped this
and she didn't give in.

Rita Süssmuth caused
quite a sensation

at the party conference
in Bremen in September 1989,

when she joined Lothar Späth
and Heiner Geißler

in an unsuccessful attempt
to oust the chancellor.

What would have become of the CDU
as a party of the people,

if we hadn't had the women's
party conference in Essen,

and as a result of this… and I
say this after some consideration…

we didn't now have the most
politically significant, popular

and respected woman in our midst,
namely, Rita Süssmuth.

Where would we be then?

He'd probably had a different image
of me: the good Catholic woman.

One of our own.

And that wasn't me.

I would never have been able
to stay true to myself

if I'd fit that image.

PETRA AND HANNELORE

Oh, lovely.

The air is the best here.

I've noticed that
you're rather fond of boots.

And I know that you've worn through a
pair or two in the service of the party.

It goes without saying that these boots
are black in line with party colours…

And above all they're
meant to help you

to fight the next few
election campaigns

at your husband's side.

Petra Kelly carries her own bags.

She doesn't deserve pity,
yet some men in the Greens look on

as this woman slaves away
until she drops.

After all, "she is emancipated",

meaning: she alone
is responsible for her actions.

THE INTERVIEW CHALLENGE

Like many women, ma'am,
you suffer from living

- in your husband's shadow.
- So you always claim!

But doesn't it bother you

to be a silent, albeit attractive
figure on the margins?

You're claiming I'm silent again,
but you're not there all the time.

I accompanied a lot of
Helmut Kohl's state visits.

She really shone on trips abroad, with
her fluent English and fluent French,

which wasn't the case
with Chancellor Kohl.

I got a real glimpse
into this marriage,

but it never occurred to me
to write or talk about it.

I didn't even talk to
my husband about it.

A lot of people
really underestimated this woman.

You also talked about bringing

more tenderness to politics.

Should politicians start hugging
or even kissing each other?

That wouldn't be so bad, but they already
do that enough, albeit in a formal way.

No, tenderness in politics means
that it should be for the people,

it's about loving your neighbour,
and tenderness also means

being careful about how you protect the
integrity of what's important to you.

Politics also requires a certain
caution if it strives to be ecological.

Tenderness means
trying to understand each other,

deconstructing our image of the
enemy, both out there and within.

We've finally made
it into the Bundestag!

I see Petra Kelly
as the first global politician.

She really valued people's
rights to self-determination:

Aborigines, Native Americans,

and also the Black Power Movement.

She was a real role model
and got sacks full of post.

Mr Beuys, it's not easy
to describe Petra Kelly,

such a multi-faceted character,
and so dedicated.

What would you say:
is she a little work of art?

If she is a work of art,
I'd say she's a big one.

A large, important and powerful
work of art within the movement.

And, of course,
above all she's a human being,

and her way of being comes across
in such an uninhibited fashion,

with full force.

This force can't be brought
to a halt, it can't be stopped.

A lot of people
want Petra to finally stop,

but she's unstoppable,
thank God.

In spite of all his talents,
your husband is sometimes accused

of being provincial at heart.

- And this verdict rubs off on his wife.
- Ah, I see.

Does it offend you
when someone says,

"There is something rather
provincial about that Mrs Kohl"?

We all have to come from somewhere.

Provincialism
is a tricky question in my case.

In the introduction,
you said I'd moved 17 times.

You were wrong. It was 19 times.

So which province are we
talking about? You tell me.

Well, we could list
all of the 17 or 19 places…

- But you know what I mean.
- Of course.

I know you're trying
to wiggle your way out of it.

So you don't think
you're provincial?

You want to hear my personal opinion
on whether I'm provincial? Just say so.

- No.
- No.

- Period?
- End of story.

Ms Kelly, you just said that the
movement had a strength all of its own

and it had nothing
to do with the media.

I heard you speak for the
first time today and I must say

it has a whole lot
to do with the media.

The media
have painted such a picture of you,

I wondered who on
earth would turn up!

And then you gave a speech
like that. Good heavens!

She kind of lost her effect
in parliament.

It was a bit like seeing a deer

who had been chased into that room.

Suddenly, all the magic was gone.

She really lost her impact

and the conservative politicians
seized the chance to ridicule her.

Since I've been in Bonn, I've become
more and more hostile towards men.

I'm talking from my own experience: for
the first time I've lost my confidence

and everything that gave me courage
to speak in public

in the Bundestag.

I get this tremendous fear and anxiety
if I have to speak in the Bundestag.

I'm concerned because I can see that
she's wearing herself out unnecessarily,

that she's giving too much of herself
and letting herself be ripped to shreds.

And of course I'm also worried
that she'll be exploited.

That's the big danger for anyone
who becomes a prominent figure.

Yes, let's face it: the standards
are set by some actress or other.

Who have been coached
and styled for a particular role

and they have their lines.

And if they don't manage it,
they repeat it thirty times over.

And then it's great.

People like me stand here at 8 p.m.

after five interviews
and various other activities,

in "freefall", as it were,
and have to ad-lib.

The lives of the former Green MPs

Petra Kelly and Gerd Bastian
ended in tragedy.

This afternoon, investigators
announced the cause of death:

The former Bundeswehr general
firstly shot his 44-year-old partner.

Bastian then committed suicide.

The reasons behind his actions
are still unclear.

Maybe Gert Bastian thought that if he
couldn't be there to look after her,

she'd just fall apart.

That was a major
error of judgement.

And a patriarchal,
protective judgement, too.

Maybe Petra Kelly would have
got burnout, as we call it today,

maybe she'd have disappeared for
years, having treatment somewhere,

but I'm a hundred percent certain
that Petra…

if she'd had the
chance to grow old,

she'd have had a second shot.

Hannelore Kohl, the wife of the
former federal chancellor, is dead.

She took her life in her house
in Ludwigshafen-Oggersheim.

In farewell letters to family and
friends she explained her motives:

she had a serious illness,
an allergy to light.

The illness had left her
barely able to leave the house.

After her funeral,
Bernhard Vogel told me

that he'd gone to visit Hannelore,

and he'd arranged
to go out and eat with her.

And Hannelore
was wearing a white silk blouse,

which kind of draped
over her hands,

with these wide sleeves.

And he could see
these dark blotches on her skin,

wet blotches.

And when Hannelore
noticed he was looking at them,

she pulled her sleeve back
and you could see red, raw skin.

And then Bernhard Vogel said,

"A person can't carry
on living like that.

That was the
moment I realised this."

DAD

Otto Schily, SPD, will now speak.

Allow me to add some
personal remarks.

My uncle Fritz Schily,

a sincere and honest man,
was a colonel in the Luftwaffe.

Towards the end of the war, he was…

I'm sorry.

9 MAY 1945

Today we bring you the last
Wehrmacht report of this war.

Since midnight the weapons
on all fronts are silent.

By the order of the Grand Admiral,

the Wehrmacht
ceased its hopeless fighting.

With this, a nearly six-year
heroic struggle has ended.

It brought us great victories,
but also heavy defeats.

The German Wehrmacht

has been honourably defeated
by superior forces.

There will now be a
three-minute silence.

After weeks of controversy, the
exhibition is finally opening in Munich:

"The War of Extermination: the Crimes
of the Wehrmacht from 1941 to 1944".

Lord Mayor of Munich, Christian
Ude, today accused the CSU

of fuelling a Neo-Nazi campaign
across Germany against the exhibition.

In my opinion, this exhibition
is offensive towards my father.

I believe that it amounts
to incitement of the people,

slandering the memory
of the deceased.

- It's not…
- Arsehole!

- …to show…
- We don't want you here!

The press are liars!
The press are liars!

- He's on your side!
- The press are liars!

I can still remember
how my sister and I

went to see the exhibition
on the Wehrmacht

and how anxious we were.

We didn't talk about it
until we left the exhibition.

We were both scared
of the same thing:

it would have been a crazy
coincidence, but we hoped we didn't see

any photos of our dad.

We were both
really worried about it

and I think a lot of people
in our generation

were worried about seeing their
father or grandfather or brother,

seeing someone
you didn't want to see there.

And then it even became
a topic of debate in the Bundestag.

Everybody knew about it,
but you didn't talk about it.

It was a really taboo topic.

Then people starting discussing it
in public and in their families:

everyone had a story to tell

and it was like a veil of lead

which had enveloped
post-war Germany.

Therefore this is a matter
which affects our relations

with an entire
generation of this country.

Whoever attempts,
and attempts are being made,

to brand an entire
wartime generation

as members and accomplices
of a criminal organisation,

they want to strike Germany at its core,
and we will fight back against this.

Christa Nickels,
the floor is yours.

President, dear colleagues.

My mother told me
that in the 1950s, my father…

a man toughened by life,
who always worked hard,

never slept with the window open

and cried out in his sleep every
night about fire, about children.

She said it was just awful.

Of course,
I loved my father a great deal.

I never heard him
talk about what it was like

to shoot at another human being
for the first time.

And then there was that handshake
between our chancellor and Mr Reagan

at Bitburg cemetery
where SS soldiers are buried.

For the first time, I realised

that on the only photo of my father
from this period,

he's in a black uniform with a
skull and crossbones insignia.

I was already a Green MP by then.

I didn't dare ask
my father about it.

I found it extremely difficult.

I just didn't have
the heart to do it.

And then in 1989, with the
Green Party parliamentary group

I went to Warsaw to commemorate 50
years since the invasion of Poland.

We went to Majdanek.

And I only know that Dad was in
France, in Russia and in Poland.

I know that he was
captured in Lviv.

Then I went to Majdanek concentration
camp and I have to tell you

I really fell to pieces one night.

I was absolutely
appalled by the camp,

but also by how these men had
been exploited, my father included.

They were mainly men, men
who loved life and their children.

I was appalled by how these men
had been used in this criminal war.

They weren't strong enough
to take another path.

They burdened themselves
with a terrible guilt

and were too weak
to take another path.

All of the men and the women
and the children,

I'm the daughter of
one of those soldiers,

feel the impact to this day.

And Mr Dregger, it's not true
that if we show the wounds,

if we show the unvarnished truth
and start to talk about it,

we're dragging the people involved
through the mud or badmouthing them.

On the contrary,
the best thing that could happen

would be to create a climate in Germany
where the elderly fathers and mothers,

and the children,
some older than others, I'm 45 now…

could come together
and have a calm conversation

about what happened to them.

I wanted to say that and I must
admit I'm impressed by the debate.

I thought long and hard about speaking
up because of course people kept saying:

"How could you?
He was your father."

But I'm not tarnishing the family
name because anyone who knows me

knows how much I love and loved
my parents, my father included.

And if this debate has helped
in any way to change things

it's because we've started to present
our political ideas and our own stories

in an honest, unvarnished way,
using simple yet horrific images.

That's what I hope for, and I
believe this Wehrmacht exhibition

may be able
to set precisely this in motion,

unless we start to plaster over the
wounds and give people false consolation,

stones instead of bread,

if today, we say to the
people who were involved:

"It shouldn't hurt you anymore
because you had no choice."

That doesn't help at all.
Thank you.

MRS CHANCELLOR

Are women simply too modest
in politics?

They say they're not after a majority,
although more women vote than men.

But then to think you could be as strong
or stronger in the various parliaments,

that we could have
a female state minister-president,

a female party leader
or even a female chancellor?

It wouldn't have been possible. You
have to keep your feet on the ground.

A female chancellor in the
1970s and 80s was unthinkable.

You couldn't jump up and say,
"Here I am!"

Even if you'd been blessed
with every talent imaginable,

it wouldn't have made a difference.

If the choice had been between the
most talented woman of the 1970s

and some dumb male clown,
the clown would have got the job.

No question about that.

I always dreamed of being
chancellor, if I'm really honest.

And someone else backed me too.

There's an old
interview in the Spiegel

where Franz-Josef Strauß says which
woman he'd choose as chancellor

and it was Renate Hellwig.

Of course, that was a
red flag for Helmut Kohl.

But Strauß didn't do it to please
you, he did it to annoy Helmut Kohl.

- Yes, but…
- No, no.

All the same,
I was the only candidate!

I did run for the post
of Young Democrat Chairwoman.

We know.
Did you want to be chancellor?

Well, I…

- You'd have been excellent.
- Great, maybe so.

On the other hand,

chancellors always have
this extreme desire,

this absolute need to gain power
and they will stop at nothing.

I observed this and I partly
admired it and partly feared it.

But I never wanted to be like that.

If I could have become chancellor
without all that, then maybe.

And why can't you say,
"Absolutely!

Theoretically speaking,
I would have done it."

No, I can't!

Do you seriously
think that my party

would accept Mrs Merkel's offer
of talks under these circumstances

when she says
she wants to become chancellor.

Let's not get too carried away now!

The German voters sent out a clear signal
as far as the chancellor candidate goes.

"I swear that I will dedicate my efforts
to the well-being of the German people

promote their welfare,
protect them from harm,

uphold and defend the Basic Law
and the laws of the Federation,

perform my duties conscientiously,

and do justice to all.

So help me God."

Sometimes history
makes you lose hope.

But sometimes it also makes you want
to let out a little whoop of joy.

I mean…

of course I can't support everything
Angela Merkel does politically.

But what I find really wonderful

is how she became chancellor and
how long she's stayed chancellor.

At any rate, she's very
adept at dealing with power.

The way she fends off
her older and younger rivals

with a flick of the wrist…
it's certainly impressive.

"You must fight tooth and nail, but
make it appear smooth and effortless."

I learned this lesson, too, and I know
that "fight" isn't the right word…

in the context of the
women's movement

and certainly not
for male-female relations,

but it is the right approach.

In 1908 women weren't even allowed

to attend political events or
meetings of political associations.

In 1918 they first got the vote.

Then it was taken away again.

They "manned up" during the war,

but then let themselves
be driven back into the kitchen,

making space for the men
who had returned from the war.

These things take time, you know,

because it's a battle,
a battle for power.

Each position
which is occupied by a woman

won't be occupied by a man anymore,
so they have something to lose.

So we have to make it clear
that it's not really a loss.

Maybe it's better
if men and women join forces.

But implanting this awareness

in people's minds,

that's difficult.

But maybe we'll manage it
over the next 25 years.

I think we will.

Are we all ready?

Well… we're done.

"Ladies, if we do nothing today,

we will live tomorrow
as we did yesterday."

Unfortunately, this appeal
by Annemirl Bauer from 1988

still rings true today.

For the first time in 20 years,

the share of women in the Bundestag
has fallen to just 30.7 percent.

Women are still paid less than men,
are less likely to be promoted

and carry the greatest burden
in family life.

Populists would like to send women
back to the kitchen and nursery

and the Internet is rife with hate
against dedicated female politicians.

What former Health Minister
Käte Strobel once said

is as relevant today as ever:

"Politics is far too serious a matter
to be left in the hands of men alone!"