Don’t ask about blazers, Germany needs more women politicians, says Merkel

As she prepares to leave the office after 16 years as the first female chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel encouraged more women to get engaged in politics, saying that the political scenario was still dominated too much by males and that needed to change.

Merkel, who was the leader of the greatest economy in Europe for a long time, inspired many women all around the world, by displaying her trademark trait of no-nonsense demeanour while answering wardrobe- related questions by Sueddeutsche Zeitung, that would not be asked to a male politician.

When asked if she would donate any of her signature colourful blazers to a museum, the 67-year-old answered that she does not give clothes to museums, but instead she donates it to the used clothes collection places.

There was a wide discussion going on in Germany about gender parity and sexism, which was sparked by the concerns that the departure of Merkel could spell a death of women politicians in the top offices. The recent accusations of sexual abuse at a media company called Axel Springer also fuelled the discussions.

Merkel stated that they have not managed to bring forward enough women into politics. She added that in summary, more work was needed to be done for the women to earn confidence and come forward as there were no women in the front row of German politics beside Merkel.

Gender parity could become a persistent problem in the next administration’s formation, with the three parties now in formal coalition negotiations, conflicted on the issue.

According to analysts, sexist attitudes and institutional restrictions play a major role in inhibiting women from succeeding in politics. During the 2015 federal election campaign, the Greens’ candidate for chancellor alleged that she was being held back by sexist scrutiny.

Merkel, who did not seek re-election, is expected to pass the baton to Okay Scholz as the next Chancellor. The current vice chancellor and leader of the centre-left Social Democrats Party (SPD) received the most votes.

Merkel was known as a skilled deal maker, who expressed her concerns over the increasing difficulty in finding better negotiations in the European Union amid the rise in nationalism and lack of consensus on the purpose of the bloc.