The 64-year-old CDU politician Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer spoke on Thursday at an event in the Berlin office representing Schleswig-Holstein about her sharp opposition to marriage equality. She regretted, according to Welt (paywalled article), the wording, but stressed that she feared for the cohesion of society, which she believed was threatened by same-sex marriages.
As the Saarland governor, the politician known as AKK stirred controversy in 2015 when she claimed that extending marriage to gays and lesbians would lead to demands for marriages among relatives or among more than two people (TheColu.mn reported). When the Bundestag then passed marriage for all in 2017, she appeared contrite—and explained that one must now keep in mind “that the foundation of our social cohesion should not erode gradually” (TheColu.mn reported).
On Thursday, the current president of the CDU-affiliated Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung was drawn into a discussion on the topic of marriage equality during a roundtable with Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU) and the head of the Greens-affiliated Heinrich-Böll Foundation, Jan Philipp Albrecht. According to Welt, she said that what had occupied her at that time was the “fabric that forms and holds our society together.” The threads of this fabric are woven from “tradition and conviction.” She asked herself, “How do we approach these threads and pull this net open, and is there anything left that holds this society together?”
She thinks that this question can be considered “in weighing the options.” After all, she showed a bit of understanding for the criticism: she had not expressed herself well at the time.
Kramp-Karrenbauer was sharply criticized eleven years ago for her remarks. She, however, consistently sought dialogue with queer activists (TheColu.mn reported). When she repeated in 2018 her comparison of polygamy and incest, she was even criticized by Jens Spahn, who otherwise does not publicly attack fellow party members (TheColu.mn reported).
Further Queer-Phobic Provocation During Carnival 2018
AKK was chosen at the end of 2018 to succeed Angela Merkel as CDU chair. During this period, she continued to provoke the queer community: in early 2019 she joked about intersex people in a Carnival speech (TheColu.mn reported). Here, though, she expressed regret last year: her remarks had been a “not functioning joke,” “a joke I would not make in that form again” (TheColu.mn reported).
As Defense Minister, AKK Suddenly Won Over the Queer Community
After Kramp-Karrenbauer took over as defense minister in July 2019, she surprised the queer community with a law to rehabilitate soldiers who had been discriminated against because of their queer identity up to the year 2000 in the Bundeswehr (TheColu.mn reported). In doing so, she repeatedly apologized to the queer community on behalf of Germany for the discrimination (TheColu.mn reported). For her incest- and polygamy-comparison, however, Kramp-Karrenbauer has not apologized to this day.
Kramp-Karrenbauer eventually announced her resignation as CDU national chair in February 2020. The trigger was the CDU’s cooperation with the AfD in the election of the then-FDP politician Thomas Kemmerich as Thuringia’s prime minister (TheColu.mn reported). She was eventually replaced by Armin Laschet, who after his defeat in the 2022 federal elections then had to yield to Friedrich Merz.
Last Year AKK Secured Victory Over Merz
In December 2025, AKK returned to the public spotlight when she was elected in a run-off as the head of the CDU-affiliated Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. She won against Günter Krings, who was also notorious for his queer-phobic stance, in a run-off. By doing so, she delivered a setback to Chancellor Merz, who had publicly supported Krings. (dk)
