Friday, June 30, 2017

Germany Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage, as Cynical Merkel Votes Against It


Marriage equality is coming to Germany just in time for my weekend arrival. But shame on Angela Merkel, who scored election points for allowing a free vote (unlike Malcolm Turnbull in Australia) but can still suck up to the most conservative members of her party by pointing to her personally opposing it. (If marriage is really between one man and one woman, how is she married to a man?)

3 comments:

M. said...

The sexist dig was unnecessary.

Personally this progress is a very hollow one.
For years and years the coalition and opposition parties didn't fight Merkel's party enough, despite introducing marriage equality to the Bundestag (Parliament) more than 30 times, and being blocked by CDU for 30 times.

This latest change is due to Volker Beck from the Green Party insisting to make marriage equality part of the party platform and not budging. (He's leaving the Parliament and apparently decided he was done playing nice - Danke Volker!)

As it became party platform in the case they became a coalition party (very likely) they would have to at some point make marriage equality law.

So Merkel who stressed she was uncomfortable over and over suddenly, SUDDENLY decided to make it a conscience vote and remove party compulsion.

All 226 "No" votes were from her party,

(http://www.berliner-zeitung.de/blob/27888890/14a2f3f235d250a8f65f0ba218b50287/abstimmungsergebnis-ehe-fuer-alle-data.pdf)

To sum up, I'm pissed that this whole thing only centered around the elections.
Merkel realized she was losing her footing in the progressive rest of the country, and with a backdrop of America sliding into more and more uncertainty she wanted to position herself as modern, fueled by our far-right parties suddenly pretending to care about LGBT people like Trump did.

As soon as France and the UK "fell" it was only a matter of time until Frau Sitzfleisch gave in.

Kenneth M. Walsh said...

@M: Pardon me, I just don't "dig" people who think I am "less than" -- particularly those in a position of power.

M. said...

You must not "dig" Barack then.
Enjoy Germany, avoid the orange one if you go north.