Bundestag Deputy President Omid Nouripour (The Greens) called for a more respectful approach in political debate following the resignation of Bärbel Bas (SPD) from her post as Federal Minister of Labour and Co-Chair of the SPD. Nouripour commented on ntv’s “Blome & Pfeffer” program on Monday, stating: “Instead of just pausing, tactical maneuvering starts immediately, backstabbing occurs, or even ridicule is employed.” He argued that the resignation makes it clear that society has forgotten how to engage in “decent arguments.” The Greens politician added that citizens now either only talk to like-minded people or they begin screaming at each other.
Nouripour, who stated that he had worked closely with Bas, noted that while they certainly had many points of disagreement, one must initially pause given the minister’s personal tragedies. “Today is the day of her resignation,” Nouripour asserted. He insisted that discussions about her political record could wait. “We can still talk about it tomorrow, we can analyze it,” the Deputy President stated. He also condemned those who speculated that Bas resigned because she unwilling to pursue reforms, stressing that it was “not decent” to make such assumptions despite her known family tragedy.
