Cem Özdemir, the leading candidate of the Greens in Baden‑Württemberg, sharply criticized the CDU’s business wing for proposing to eliminate the legal right to part‑time work.
“Anyone who talks about lifestyle part‑time clearly has little understanding of the everyday reality faced by many families in our country” Özdemir told the newspapers of the Funke Media Group. He urged the ruling party to focus on what truly matters for women and the economy: “We need more full‑day childcare, more kindergarten and nursery places, and better tax incentives for full‑time work”.
According to Özdemir, these measures would help address the shortage of skilled labour. He argued that real freedom of choice exists only when the conditions are right. “We have the best‑trained generation of women” he said. “Many of them want to work more, and we must finally clear the way for them”.
The Mittelstands‑ und Wirtschaftsunion (MIT), the CDU’s small‑business and economic wing, has submitted a motion for the next party conference that would abolish the existing legal right to part‑time work. The proposal would keep only a few exceptions for child care or for people caring for relatives.