Angela Merkel would vote for “marriage for all” today

For many years, Angela Merkel, now 72, opposed the introduction of "marriage for all" - in 2017, the then Chancellor made a surprising U-turn and lifted the requirement for CDU/CSU MPs to form parliamentary groups. She herself voted against it, but spoke of a “decision of conscience” by the MPs. Thanks to a number of voices from our own camp, same-sex marriage became law in Germany.

Almost a decade later, the CDU politician has now expressly spoken out in favor of marriage for all. When asked whether she would vote differently today than she did in 2017, Merkel said in the “Coffee and Cursing” podcast: “I would vote for it today, yes.”

With marriage for all, Germany was one of the last Western European countries to enable full legal equality for homosexuals and heterosexuals in marriage law. Gays and lesbians had fought for this for decades.

“I had a variety of worries at the time,” said Merkel in the podcast, referring to questions about surrogacy and children. A free vote in the Bundestag was particularly important to her at the time. She knew many homosexual people who wanted marriage for everyone.

In the interview, Merkel was also asked about her opinion on the poor poll results of the current Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU). He has what “you have to have as a Federal Chancellor, namely the unconditional will to power,” said Merkel. She never asked herself the question of whether survey results were justified or unjustified. It's about building bridges - and the CDU as a whole must do that. »And it is certainly important that everyone chooses their words very carefully.«