The federal anti-discrimination agency is so important that it has only been managed on an interim basis for four years.

The post is vacant.

This could suggest that the small unit, which is largely concerned with public relations, is actually superfluous.

Of course, this does not mean that there is no discrimination.

But basically all government agencies - and also all citizens and private companies who still care about democratically established law - are called upon to prevent discrimination for certain reasons.

But it's always about symbols.

The post of “Independent Federal Commissioner” is one such symbol, and the dispute over Ferda Ataman, who is to be elected by the Bundestag on Thursday on a cabinet proposal, also has symbolic significance.

You can also ask questions

If you don't see the position as another supply post, as part of the rampant, rather senseless and democratically dubious nonsense of being the representative of everything and everyone, if you have concrete hopes in the person to be nominated in particular, then you can also ask questions.

But there are more important things, according to critics from the FDP.

Undoubtedly, but this is almost always true;

with the justification one can hardly take a political decision seriously.

Parliament must ask itself to what extent discrimination can be narrowed down to the relationship between Germans – whether they are called “potatoes” or something else – and migrants.

Can Islamism be downplayed?

Whether clan crime should be trivialized.

Whether the exclusion that Muslim girls experience within their communities is sufficiently addressed.

Whether it is no longer necessary to talk about efforts to integrate immigrants as well.

Whether Germany's future should lie in a radical identity politics or in a free society.

And then the Bundestag has to decide.