As Germany's Angela Merkel leaves office this week marking an end to 16 years and four tenures, all eyes across the world turn to Olaf Scholz. Whereas within the nation all hopes get pinned onto the incoming German chancellor who assumes office on Wednesday. After all, the 63-year-old built an image that led to his victory while banking on the slogan 'Scholz will sort it."
Meet the new, gender-balanced cabinet
Gender equality is often rhetoric, seldom reflected in numbers and rarely put into practice. But Germany's new chancellor Scholz unveiled the country's new gender-balanced cabinet on Monday, wherein women hold key security portfolios.
"That corresponds to the society we live in; half of the power belongs to women," said Scholz while unveiling the cabinet, and also describing himself as a 'feminist.'
While a man may have taken charge of Germany, there are more women than ever in the cabinet, exactly half to be precise. With 8 women and 8 men in Team Scholz, he kept his election promise of appointing as many women in his government.
Germany, Europe's biggest economy, is now banking on Scholz and his cabinet to right the wrongs and bring down the drastic surge in Coronavirus infections. At this point in time, one of the most significant appointments happens to be that of the country's health minister.
Scholz entrusted the portfolio with Karl Lauterbach, a media-savvy epidemiologist, who has been one of the nation's oft-quoted people on Covid protocols and measures.
The new German chancellor on vaccination
Strictly advocating vaccination, Scholz has spoken out in favour of mandatory vaccination and also said that he wanted the MPs to vote on the matter by year-end so that things could be implemented by February.
Security in the hands of women
While unveiling the cabinet members handling security, Scholz said that Germany's, "security will be in the hands of strong women." Lawyer Nancy Faeser becomes the country's first female interior minister. She heads the party's branch in the central state of Hesse and as the interior minister, she will be overseeing the country's police forces and domestic intelligence agencies. She has already called, "far-right extremism," the biggest threat to the country.
Christine Lambrecht, the outgoing Justice Minister, will be the new defence minister. She will be Germany's third female defence minister in a row. It's not just the first female interior minister, Germany will also get its first female foreign minister in the new cabinet.
Green party co-leader Annalena Baerbock has already let her assertive stance on China and Russia, be known widely. The forty-year-old, mother of two also said that human rights and rule of law will be at the centre of German diplomacy. Klara Geywitz, an SPD deputy leader will take over the Ministry of Construction and Housing in the new cabinet.
While Merkel shunned the word 'feminist', Scholz has embraced it. "Women and men account for half the population each, so women should also get half the power," he said, adding, "I'm very proud that we have succeeded in realizing this."
