By Stephen Peter
The Berlin Greens continue to foam! Because Kai Wegner (50, CDU) announced in the BZ on Sunday that he would refrain from gendering in the Senate Chancellery, the eco-party is furious. On Monday, the Greens followed suit and sharply attacked the Governing Mayor.
“I have not yet signed a letter in gender language. It is important to me that the language used by the administration is understandable. Anyone can speak privately as they wish. But I would like to speak the German that I learned at school and that everyone understands,” Wegner said in an interview. With these obvious things, the new head of town hall triggered a debate, he was accused of a “culture war from the right”.
“I would like to speak the German that everyone understands,” says Kai Wegner Photo: © Parvets
A good two-thirds of Germans speak gender language, according to several surveys.
Green parliamentary group leader Bettina Jarasch (54) doesn’t care, she sent a statement on Monday: “While many people in Berlin can no longer afford the rents, the governing mayor plays language police. During the election campaign, Kai Wegner always called for administrative reform to be carried out instead of just talking. Now he is responsible and what does he do? He talks about language instead of tackling future tasks.”
Jarasch did not answer BZ questions.
“The Governing Mayor plays language police.” Bettina Jarasch Photo: TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP
The left shifted down two gears after the great excitement of the weekend. The new state chairmen Franziska Brychcy (38) and Maximilian Schirmer (32) on the BZ in general: “We expect a governing mayor to tackle the city’s urgent problems. There is enough to do when it comes to affordable rental housing, efficient local transport and well-functioning administrations.”
“We are committed to simpler language.” Franziska Giffey Photo: Britta Pedersen/dpa
“I’m in favor of a relaxed approach to the issue of gender, we shouldn’t get too tense about it. Gender-neutral terms are a good solution,” says Alexander Freier-Winterwerb (36), spokesman for family policy for the SPD parliamentary group. “Colons and asterisks are then not necessary.”
Support for Wegner, of course, in the CDU parliamentary group: “We keep hearing criticism of a written language that is also incomprehensible due to the most diverse forms of gendering. It is therefore absolutely correct that Kai Wegner, as Governing Mayor of Berlin, is sensitizing the authorities here. There is no ban or withdrawal, ”said the administrative spokesman Stephan Schmidt (49).
The Berlin FDP has no opinion on the subject: “The supposedly necessary debate only distracts from the actual problems of our city,” said General Secretary Lars Lindemann (52).
SPD state leader and Senator for Economic Affairs Franziska Giffey (45) spoke up on Twitter: “We are committed to a simpler language for our public institutions and at the same time stand for the achievement of a gender-fair language that reflects our modern society.”
Her own administration uses the colon in press releases, and Giffey uses the masculine and feminine form in speeches. Which requirements apply in your authority? Giffey did not answer this question from BZ.
Wegner on Monday to the BZ: “We will not ban gender. The houses of the state administration can decide how to deal with it.” He confirms: “I will not sign documents with an underscore and an asterisk.”