Angela Merkel: the conservative chancellor who now declares herself a feminist | The symbolic weight of the “Merkel era” in Germany

Under the executive of the conservative leader, a series of laws have been enacted which have contributed to the balance of work between men and women: parental subsidy to raise children, a greater supply of nurseries and kindergartens, and the renewal of divorce legislation. Merkel is divorced and remarried – her last name is that of her first husband – and she has no children. At the speed, they accuse him that his government has not done much to fight against gender-based violence in a country where, every three days, a woman dies at the hands of her partner or ex-partner. The delayed equal marriage and it was only approved in 2017, despite Christian Democrat Merkel’s stance to the contrary. In addition, its social democratic partners promoted the law of gender equality on boards of directors big business, which only came into effect in August of this year.

Beyond the concrete and necessary measures, the symbolic weight of Merkel’s leadership is inspiring for other women, she underlines to PageI12 Franco Delle Donne, doctor of communication from Freie Universität Berlin. “She is a role model for any woman who wants to reach the top, and not just in politics, but also in business and academia.”

“They didn’t believe in her”

Doctorate in Physics – a career that was followed mainly by men four decades ago – Merkel joined the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) at the age of 35, with the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989). The leader born in the East she held the ministry of Women and Youth in the government of her mentor, Helmut Kohl. In 1999, when the Chancellor of Reunification, then leader of the opposition, appeared embroiled in a corruption scandal, the column Merkel wrote in the main conservative daily was crucial, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, in which he called on his co-religionists to emancipate themselves from the powerful leader. A year later, Merkel took the reins of the CDU. She then managed to get rid of the men who underestimated her, converts and social democrats, including Gerhard Schröder, who narrowly won the 2005 election.

Delle Donne, producer of the podcast “Merkel. The Chancellor of the Crisis, ”explains the obstacles that the outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs had to overcome because of her status as a woman. “No one believed in her in 2005; many thought it would be a transitional government for which he was not qualified. They didn’t believe in her because she was a woman, because she was from East Germany, because she was too young, because she didn’t have the confidence of her party. Yet she has become the most important policy of the 21st century for Germany and Europe, and one of the most important in the world ”.

It is in this context that the second candidate for chancellor emerges: the environmentalist Annalena Baerbock, 40-year-old, who topped the polls but lost ground in the shadow of plagiarizing a book. However, the Greens will be the key to forming a coalition government.

Inequality

However, still inequalities persist in the public arena German. “The arrival of Merkel to the Chancellery was an important step, but it did not spell the end of inequalities in politics. Women continue to be under-represented in the Bundestag (parliament), especially on the far right and in Merkel’s party, ”she told EFE. Ana Carbajosa, author of the book Angela Merkel. Chronicle of an era. And I add. “There are those who even believe that Merkel’s presence was counterproductive. It was believed that with a Chancellor the goal was achieved and it became an alibi to slow down the slow road to equality.”

And in the business sphere, the quota of women on the boards of directors of large companies is a mixed record for the Federation of German Entrepreneurs.

In this sense, Gemma Casadevall, EFE correspondent in Berlin, recalls that the 16 years of the and Merkel they did not lead to parity. “The pay gap is 20%, only 15% of positions on company boards are held by women and only 31.4% of seats in the Bundestag are held by women MPs. In 2013, the percentage was 37.5 ”.

Merkel is retiring with great popularity and on her own accord. There are young people who grew up under his leadership, who saw how he broke the glass ceiling. She addressed them on the 100th anniversary of the women’s vote in Germany on November 12, 2018. Merkel said in her speech: “No one makes fun of a girl who says when she grows up, she wants to be chancellor. ”