Merkel, time to take stock: a more modern societal policy
Angela Merkel's four terms as head of Germany have helped modernize the country.
But not all developments are to the Chancellor's credit.
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Text by: Pascal Thibaut Follow
7 mins
Angela Merkel, not so old fashioned?
Parental leave, development of nurseries, quotas for women, marriage for all: the sixteen years of power of the chancellor on departure will have been marked by important societal advances.
But what was his real implication on these questions?
Our correspondent in Berlin provides an update.
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From our correspondent,
Angela Merkel's personality and origins partly explain the advances in societal issues. She grew up in the former East Germany where nine out of ten women worked, where childcare, including in companies, worked. A model opposite to that which prevailed in the western part of Germany where the dominant family model was that of the stay-at-home mother taking care of her children, particularly during the first years, until their schooling. She could work part-time at best, with schools shutting down at lunchtime. He then had to take care of his offspring again.
Angela Merkel's biography is at odds with this model.
The physicist worked as a researcher until
the fall of the Wall
.
When she became president of the CDU in 2000, she was a kind of UFO for this party dominated by Catholic, West German men, at the head of a traditional family and defenders of conservative societal values.
Angela Merkel, the daughter of a Protestant pastor, childless, has just "legalized" her common-law marriage by marrying her longtime companion, Joachim Sauer.
A revisited family policy
More than two decades later, her work at the head of the CDU has changed the face of the Christian Democrats, as Chancellor biographer Ralph Bollmann points out: “
She saved the party by allowing it to renew itself and to renew itself. conquer new, younger, more urban and more liberal voters through a more modern societal policy
”.
The four terms of the Chancellor as head of Germany have also helped modernize the country.
But all these developments are not to be credited to Angela Merkel.
The head of government, who knew how to manage numerous crises and ensure the stability of her country in a troubled world, will not remain associated in history with a major project, with one exception for Ralph Bollmann: “
When she became Chancellor in 2005, she presented a vast reform program, but only one of these projects was realized, the revolution in family policy
”.
Promote the work of mothers
It is a newcomer in politics, the Christian democrat Ursula von der Leyen, mother of seven children, appointed Minister of the Family, who is in charge of the file between 2005 and 2009. Barbara Vinken, author of the book
The German mother
, draws a positive assessment of these reforms: “
Ursula von der Leyen wanted women, even as mothers, to have the possibility of fully participating in the labor market. I am very happy that these advances have taken place.
"
One of the reforms carried out by the new minister, now president of the European Commission, is the introduction of paid parental leave 2/3 of the net salary so that parents can take care of their newborn while waiting for he can go to the nursery. If the fathers participate, the duration of the leave is extended. Martin Langendorf and his wife were among the first to benefit from it when their first child was born in 2007: “
For me, it was obvious. It is not entirely up to women to sacrifice themselves for education. It seems quite normal to me that the father also stays at home for a while to look after his child. It's a huge development for German society
". Martin Langendorf and his wife took advantage of this new measure after the birth of their two other children.
If a Christian Democrat implements this reform, we must not forget that Germany is then ruled - as during 12 of the 16 years of the Merkel era - by a grand coalition.
Making it easier for women to reconcile family life and work is a demand of the Social Democrats.
As in other cases, Angela Merkel has skilfully taken up proposals traditionally defended by her opponents.
The introduction of parental leave with a break for fathers is not without criticism, moreover, within the conservative camp.
Bavarian Christian-Socialists evoke “layered internships”;
the Catholic Church will criticize the development of nurseries, for her contrary to the interests of the family.
More places in crèche
The care of young children to make it easier for women to work is the other important part of these advances. Since 2013, parents have an enforceable right if they cannot find a nursery place for children aged 1 to 3. The percentage of those who can be taken care of has increased from 14% in 2006 to 35% last year. The number of places increased during the same period from 286,000 to 830,000. But significant deficits remain, more parents wanting to have such an option than previously believed.
Another obstacle traditionally limiting women's work in Germany is the school model with schools opening early, but classes ending at midday.
As long as the children were not independent, the mothers most often had to take care of them in the afternoon.
Just before the elections, Parliament passed a law obliging municipalities, from 2026, to have primary schools open all day, a model that has developed in recent years.
What has been around for decades in many other countries must therefore prevail over time in Germany.
Angela Merkel, late feminist
Was the first woman to rule Germany a feminist? The results are certainly mixed. Of course, the fact that Angela Merkel led the first European power is a step forward. During a ceremony for the hundredth anniversary of the right to vote for women in Germany, Angela Merkel declared: "
Today, no one makes fun of a young girl who wants to become a minister or chancellor
". When he presented her with an award three months ago for her merits on these issues, the Prime Minister of Finland declared: “
You have shown that women can reach the highest positions
”. The Greens candidate for the chancellery declared the same year: "
We can learn lessons from the way she manages these meetings where the testosterone of males is not lacking
”.
But gender parity governments have never been a priority for Angela Merkel. His party and the Christian Democratic parliamentary group are still just as masculine. The Chancellor did not believe in the advantage of quotas to advance the cause of women. She changed her mind. Germany has introduced them in recent years for boards of directors and supervisory boards of large companies. Asked recently during a discussion, Angela Merkel who, a few years ago, said she did not want to assert herself a feminist when others had done much more, according to her, for the cause of women, has evolved: “
We should all be feminists. Things have changed in our country
”. A statement that caused thunderous applause.
► See also: Merkel, time to take stock: in the Rhineland, the contradictions of environmental policy
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