Basque hat in the Bundestag: Inexpensive expulsion causes excitement!

Basque hat in the Bundestag: Inexpensive expulsion causes excitement!

On Friday there was a remarkable incident in the German Bundestag when MP Marcel Bauer from the Die Left Party had to leave the hall due to his basket cap. Bundestag President Julia Klöckner (CDU) asked him to lose weight, which Bauer did not comply with. He then left the hall, but later returned with the hat. On his return, he was again asked by Parliamentary Vice President Andrea Lindholz (CSU) to lose weight, which led to his final warning and the subsequent expulsion. CDU/CSU and AfD applauded the decision of Lindholz and thus showed their consent to the regulations of the house.

The incident has triggered a debate about the dress code in the Bundestag. The t-online.de reports that the business and house rules of the Bundestag states that clothing and behavior must correspond to the dignity of the house. This had already led to similar discussions in the past, including when the Green MP Hans-Christian Ströbele was pointed out to his headgear.

dress code and historical contexts

The MEP's question of clothing has not only been the focus since the incident with a farmer. There was already an incident in 2015 when the CSU politician Dorothee Bär was criticized for wearing a football jersey in the parliament. This incident and the current expulsion of Bauer are not only isolated cases, but part of a major discussion about the dress code, which also relates to the behavior of the MPs. Historically speaking, the appearance of MPs is often interpreted politically, as the example of Lenelotte von Bothmer shows, who stepped into parliament in 1970.

The [rp-online.de] (https://rp-online.de/politik/experte-mer--sollen-sollen-soll-wieder-Besser-Anszer-Anszer-Anszer-Anser-Anszer-Anszer-Anszer-Anser-Anser-Anser-Anser-Anleme emphasizes that in the past 40 years, since the Greens moved to the Bundestag, a change in the parliamentary etiquette can be observed. While there is a certain looseness in the dress code, there is nevertheless the demand that the MPs dress respectfully to protect the dignity of the house. Parliament managing director Patrick Schnieder expressed concerns about the release of the fashionable customs in parliament and recommended that you are based on a business casual dress code.

The concern for adequate clothing runs through the political rows, with casual outfits from the National Assembly at an international level, such as in France. In Germany, however, there is initially no tightening of the dress code in the Bundestag, although the pressure on MPs is growing to take their role as public representatives into account through their clothing.

The discussion about Marcel Bauer and his bask hats impressively shows how much clothing and political appearance are linked and the importance of decisions about fashion in political space.