During a half-hour session in the Bundestag on Wednesday evening, the far-right AfD blamed the rainbow flag for the mishaps of Deutsche Bahn. The discussion centered on the AfD motion titled “Performance instead of Rainbow Flagging — Refrain from tasks outside the remit at Deutsche Bahn AG” (PDF), in which the party called for banning rainbow flags at train stations and on an ICE train. Members from all democratic factions criticized the AfD for waging a culture war and for trying to distract from the country’s real problems.
The first speaker from the AfD, Götz Frömming, claimed that the “Deutsche Bundesbahn” (sic) was so poor that passengers should actually receive compensation. He described encountering “dirt and misery,” with a nonworking escalator and a failed electronic display. “Maybe the train has also failed, but — wonderful — what hangs next to the timetable: a small rainbow flag,” Frömming said. “We’re not trying to belittle certain ways of life or sexual preferences — that happens everywhere, and that’s perfectly fine — but they have no place in the Deutsche Bundesbahn.”
He contrasted this with Switzerland, which he claimed achieves more than 90 percent punctuality. What the Brandenburg politician did not mention is that the Swiss Federal Railways actively promote an open corporate culture. The SBB, for example, are a holder of the Swiss LGBTI Label, a certificate recognizing organizations in Switzerland that actively pursue equality, inclusion, and appreciation for queer employees.
Also speaking for the AfD, Lars Haise argued that the rainbow flag was responsible for delays at Deutsche Bahn. In Pride Month, he said, it is not important whether you are standing on the platform in the morning and whether a train actually departs on time; what matters is that you can track in real time where the rainbow ICE is located. He called the rainbow flag a symbol of a “radicalized sect.”
The other parliamentary groups expressed horror at the motion. “It’s unbelievable what kind of blather is in this,” commented Michael Donth of the CDU. “It is not true that individual groups at the DB are favored because of their worldview.” The Reutlingen representative added in disbelief: “Do you seriously want Deutsche Bahn AG to stop respecting and promoting diversity?”
Donth highlighted a further inconsistency in the AfD’s argument: “You, who usually warn about too many regulations and invoke freedom, now want to micromanage a large German company’s corporate symbols and what it may or may not display.”
His party colleague Henning Rehbaum added: “With their motion the AfD gives the impression that a particularly polished train is keeping the DB from doing its job. That’s obviously nonsense, and one has to wonder: don’t we have other problems?” The AfD had, in the motion, criticized an ICE train circulating in rainbow colors across Germany — one of 410 such trains, as Rehbaum explained. There are also several other trains with special markings, for instance for the Miniatur Wunderland Knuffingen. Rehbaum underscored that the Union supports a modern corporate culture, diversity in the workforce, and a customer-oriented, globally oriented image for Deutsche Bahn. “In a free country no one should fear a rainbow flag. It is a symbol of respect for people who have the right to belong to our country just as much as everyone else,” the Christian Democrat argued.
“What do you actually have against homosexuals?”
Jonas Geissler of the CSU also criticized the motion: “All you’re trying to do today is a culture war.” He asked, “What do you actually have against homosexuals? What do you have against minorities? What do you have against fringe groups? And what makes you think you should pit them against the majority again and again? What does that get you, really?” His answer: “You should be ashamed of what you did today.”
SPD, Greens, and the Left also voiced their bewilderment. Martin Kröber (SPD) stated: “With what you’re delivering here today, you’re clearly showing what the AfD stands for: hostility, hatred, contempt, and exclusion. You’re always portraying yourselves as victims, while your real aim is to victimize others.” His party colleague Isabel Cademartori described it as an attempt by the AfD to misuse Deutsche Bahn for its culture-war agenda. Green politician Matthias Gastel accused the right-wing faction of not taking the problems with Deutsche Bahn seriously. “The poor quality of rail service is not the fault of a rainbow; it’s the fault of policies that have underinvested in infrastructure.”
“Was for a wimp you have to be to let yourself be triggered by this,” commented Maik Brückner, the Left’s queer-policy spokesperson, in a tone that mocked the AfD’s alleged fears: “What a wimp to be triggered by this. How embarrassing!” He emphasized that queer communities were certainly not to blame for the state of Germany’s rail system, arguing that the real culprits were the traditionally heterosexist transport ministers over the past two to three decades. In his view, the hysterical debate is a weekly distraction from Germany’s real problems. He also noted that the AfD had previously forced an April parliamentary hour to debate an alleged “gay pornography scandal” at a school in Saxony (TheColu.mn reported); at that time too, the other factions accused the AfD of trying to whip up emotion.
Following the debate, the motion was referred to the responsible Transport Committee for further consideration. For the time being, the Bundestag adjourned.
