The Bremen government tries to help the families in the country, but everything takes too long here, says Ilse Wehrmann. (Ken Liu /dpa)
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Ms. Wehrmann, you are concerned about family policy at the federal level, but also at the Bremen state level. What are you worrying about?
Ilse Wehrmann: I think we have given the topics of children and education far too little focus in the past few months. The corona crisis puts children and women at a massive disadvantage. I lack the will to solve this problem together and develop concepts. I experience a lack of conception in family policy – in Germany as a whole, but also in the state of Bremen.
Please describe in more detail what you think is missing.
So far, I am not aware of any program for the federal election at federal level that focuses on children and families. Car and climate summits are held, but have you ever heard of a children’s or family summit? Not me. If climate policy has to be sustainable, why shouldn’t that also apply to family policy.
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However, a car and a climate summit definitely have something to do with families, with securing jobs for fathers and mothers and an environmentally friendly future.
That’s true. Good economic policy thinks about the family and always thinks about education. Good family and education policy is economic policy, it is future policy. However, this does not happen by itself, the federal and state governments have to do their homework for this. I do not want to and will not come to terms with the fact that there is still a lack of childcare facilities nationwide, but also in Bremen. A family, a mother who does not know that her child is well looked after, cannot take up work.
However, it cannot be said that nothing is being done for families: child benefit has been increased, construction child benefit introduced, and the good day care law has been passed.
That is correct, but single parents, many of whom are unemployed in Bremen, do not benefit from the Baukindergeld. The Good Kita Act in Bremen ensures three years of non-contributory kindergarten, which were free for families with little money anyway – instead of investing the money in staff and quality assurance. So we withhold development and educational opportunities for children, especially in socially disadvantaged areas. I claim that the development of a child in the first six years depends largely on the financial strength of a municipality and the family image of the mayor.
What do you mean?
The development of a child depends on whether the mayor or the senate has provided sufficient care and education at an early stage.
Every mayor, every government will emphasize how important families are to them.
Certainly. But not enough is happening. Not in Bremen, not in the federal government. The Chancellor should have made family policy a top priority long ago, just like the situation of the automobile manufacturer.
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In the summer of a year ago, the “Focus” reported that the birth rate had increased significantly between 2006 and 2018, and that family-friendly politics also played their part.
Certainly some things have changed for the better, but it is far from being enough. I have the impression that a lot is being done for middle-class families, but less well-off families and single parents are falling by the wayside. Politics is often made for those who can help themselves, see Baukindergeld. The everyday problems of families are far, far away for the members of the government in Berlin. You are far too busy with yourself, more than ever in the crisis. Actually, one has to say that this society lacks love for children. You have to look at them in a completely different way, explain the pandemic to them and thank them for their waiver.
And in Bremen?
The state government is trying hard, I don’t want to deny it. But everything takes too long here. There is a lack of pragmatism and courage, flexibility and courage. Anyone who wants to take concrete action must have a lot of staying power. But not all have that. We need a jolt in Germany and in Bremen for family policy.
The interview was conducted by Silke Hellwig.
To person
Ilse Wehrmann was department head of the Bremen Evangelical Church and chairwoman of the Federal Association of Evangelical Day Care Centers for Children. Today she advises politics and economics.
-Family policy: is enough being done?
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