Women are leading the way
Young women such as Greta Thunberg and Sanna Marin made a name for themselves in 2019. But established politicians like Jacinda Ardern and Ursula von der Leyen also figured prominently in the headlines. Is this the dawn of the age of women?
No longer willing to play second fiddle
2019 was a good year for women, writes Blick, citing the climate movement as an example:
“It is dominated worldwide by women. Even China has its own Greta. A banal explanation: women like to care for things. For example by preserving the environment. A less banal explanation: women are no longer willing to play second fiddle. Why should they? Women have understood that they can be anything: chancellor, boss of the EU, president of Germany. In Israel Haifa's mayor is showing how to lead a coalition of ultra-Orthodox Jews and Muslims. The government in Finland has been female since December - all five parties in the governing coalition are led by women. And it's of no consequence whatsoever whether or not all these women are fierce feminists.”
Hope is female
Women secured more positions of power than ever before in the past year, the Badische Zeitung notes with satisfaction:
“Since autumn the fate of the EU and Eurozone has been in the hands of two women: Ursula von der Leyen, EU Commission President, and Christine Lagarde, head of the European Central Bank. In the CDU, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer won the power struggle for the party leadership against two men. If you look to the north of Europe, you can observe what amounts to a small feminist revolution there. ... And if there are hopeful political signs for 2020 they don't come from old white men. There is no need to call by name the polarisers and populists who do nothing but secure their own power. ... Ultimately it would also be good for men if this Year of Women were followed by many more.”