At the same time, the 67-year-old is receiving more and more support from his party colleagues. The debate about sexism in society is also in full swing on the internet. There, bruderle is also attacked for his allegedly attractive remarks to a "stern" female employee.
Aubenminister guido westerwelle (FDP) called on his party to show solidarity with its front man. For the man at the top, there is no more pardon among political competitors and "in some editorial offices". Development aid minister dirk niebel criticized "stern" journalist laura himmelreich, who had written the article. "I think it is quite impudent of the lady from the "stern" to write this article, who, after a year, having felt burdened, then, when someone takes over a new political function, processes this event," he said in the ZDF program "berlin direkt. "This has nothing to do with good journalism"."Waiting a year and then scandalizing speaks for itself.
Schleswig-holstein’s FDP faction leader wolfgang kubicki accused "stern" in the "bild am sonntag" of wanting to harm bruderle. But he advised him against taking legal action against the magazine. "As far as i can see, the article does not contain any false statements of fact."He wants to draw consequences for himself from the debate. For example, he would avoid speaking at hotel bars if female journalists were present. "Because naturally a loose and not successful remark slips out there already times. Now I have to expect that this will be used against me."
According to a representative emnid poll for "bild am sonntag," 90 percent of citizens think an apology from bruderle is appropriate if the accusations turn out to be true.
The chairwoman of the association of women journalists in bonn, andrea ernst, thinks the sexism debate is urgently needed. Thanks to the "stern" report, everyday sexism is finally being talked about. Young women, interns and young editors in particular now had their say. The discussion is also very good for the already very close relationship between the press and politics, and is professionalizing the relationship again.
From the point of view of SPD faction leader frank-walter steinmeier, the proximity between media and politics is unavoidable. "I don’t think, however, that she has really become rougher," he told the "leipziger volkszeitung" (saturday). Left-wing caucus leader gregor gysi considers debate about bruderle overblown. "And then a year later, I also think it’s a bit late, to be honest," he said in the ARD program "bericht aus berlin" (report from berlin).
Grunen party leader claudia roth criticized that women were "increasingly turned into doers" in the debate so that the "male power structures" would be preserved. On the NDR info channel she called on bruderle to act. "It wouldn’t be bad if he explained himself, if he apologized, because obviously the young journalist felt attacked," she said. "It is very sad that quite obviously still mannerists think sexism is a trifle or even their right (…)."
Roth’s party colleague renate kunast also criticized some of the reactions to the accusations of sexism: "the woman is now coming forward too late, she should have reacted differently right away, please. There is only one thing missing: "she caused it herself"."All these are defense mechanisms "to turn the tables".
Away from the political parquet, the debate continued in the short message service twitter over the weekend. Since the beginning of the discussion, tens of thousands of tweets have appeared there under the hashtag #aufschrei. Over the weekend, up to ten tweets per minute flowed in on the subject.