German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has expressed his belief that it’s high time for a woman to assume the presidency in Germany.
“I would be delighted if we elected a woman to Bellevue Palace in 2027,” he recently stated.
Bellevue Palace, situated in Berlin, serves as the official residence of the German president.
Since the establishment of the Federal Republic in 1949, Germany has had 12 federal presidents, all of whom were men.
Angela Merkel, who governed from 2005 to 2021, remains the only woman to have served as chancellor in the history of the Federal Republic.
The current president of Germany is Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Steinmeier, aged 68, is serving his second and final term, which concludes in 2027.
In addition to advocating for a gradual increase in the minimum hourly wage to 15 euros (approximately 16.2 U.S. dollars), Chancellor Scholz has proposed a two-step approach.
“I am clearly in favor of raising the minimum wage to 14 euros first, then to 15 euros in the next step,” he explained.
However, Scholz criticized the Minimum Wage Commission for its conservative approach.
“The employers insisted on only a minimal adjustment. They also broke with the tradition of deciding by mutual agreement,” he noted.
The current plan is to raise the minimum wage from the current €12.41 to €12.82 next year.
