Germany Debates the Family
May 15, 2006Advertisement
As Germany celebrates International Day of the Family for the very first time, the domestic debate about family life continues to rage. With the lowest birth rate in Europe and a rapidly aging population, Germany is facing a demographic crisis. Political parties here have finally realized that family issues are not just the resort of parents, or indeed only of mothers.
However, since Family Affairs Minister Ursula von der Leyen -- herself the mother of seven -- proposed that new fathers should also take time out from work to care for their offspring, conservative politicians have been up in arms.
Read this selection of DW-WORLD.DE articles on the issues surrounding families in Germany, and the country's search for a new approach to family politics.