Left Party MP Cansin Köktürk was thrown out of a German parliament plenary chamber on Wednesday for wearing a t-shirt with the word “Palestine” printed on it, a move deemed a political statement by the parliamentary leadership.

Bundestag President Julia Klöckner intervened during the session, reminding MPs that political messages on clothing are not permitted in the chamber.

While the Bundestag does not have a detailed dress code, its rules require MPs and visitors to dress “in keeping with the prestige” of the institution. Enforcement of this standard is left to the discretion of the session chair.

  • Björn Tantau@swg-empire.deEnglish
    112·
    2 days ago

    They wanted a dresscode. They wanted to have political discourse be through, you know, discourse, instead of through other means. But they didn’t want the dresscode to be so strict that they would be forced to wear the same silly robes for hundreds of years or so.

    • NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io
      31·
      2 days ago

      Okay now that I think about it that was an overreaction, but I still think such rules are completely unnecessary and ripe for misuse as a way of silencing minorities and opposition.

      They wanted to have political discourse be through, you know, discourse, instead of through other means

      Why though? What is gained by putting such a rule in place?

      • Björn Tantau@swg-empire.deEnglish
        2·
        2 days ago

        I guess it reduces the chance of political stunts disrupting the session. The Bundestag is supposed to get shit done, which is already hard enough. Write Palestine on the agenda, have actual debates and call out the hypocrisy of everyone. Propose a law like “No weapons for war criminals”.

        But disrupting the session (which this incident didn’t, but could if done a little bit more aggressively) is in the end just an empty virtue signaling gesture that is better suited for election campaigns.