Seven Year Marriage Law

[DeadPoolX 9]

By Madeline Chambers

From: Reuters - Oddly Enough

BERLIN (Reuters) - Bavaria's most glamorous politician -- a flame-haired motorcyclist who helped bring down state premier Edmund Stoiber -- has shocked the Catholic state in Germany by suggesting marriage should last just 7 years.

Gabriele Pauli, who poses on her web site in motorcycle leathers, is standing for the leadership of Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU) -- sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) -- in a vote next week.

She told reporters at the launch of her campaign manifesto Wednesday she wanted marriage to expire after seven years and accused the CSU, which promotes traditional family values, of nurturing ideals of marriage which are wide of the mark.

"The basic approach is wrong ... many marriages last just because people believe they are safe," she told reporters. "My suggestion is that marriages expire after seven years."

After that time, couples should either agree to extend their marriage or it should be automatically dissolved, she said.

Fifty-year-old Pauli, twice divorced, is a maverick intent on shaking up her male-dominated and mainly Catholic party which has dominated Bavarian politics since World War Two.

"This is about bringing ideas into the CSU and starting a discussion," she told German television Thursday after she had unleashed a wave of criticism from other politicians.

Former foe Stoiber said she did not belong in the CSU and European lawmaker Ingo Freidrich dismissed her views.

"She is diametrically contradicting our Christian, ethical values," Freidrich said.

Peter Ramsauer, head of the CSU in Germany's parliament, compared Pauli's ideas to "the dirt under your fingernails."

Pauli, who attracted attention earlier this year when she posed for a magazine wearing long black latex gloves, was at the center of a snooping scandal which eventually led to Stoiber, Bavarian premier for 14 years, saying he would stand down early.

She said his office tried to obtain details about lovers and alcohol consumption to use against her.

The CSU will elect Stoiber's successor as party head at a conference next week. He will be replaced as state premier in early October.

Viewed as a party rebel, Pauli stands almost no chance of winning next week's vote. The contest has been fought mainly between Bavarian state economy minister Erwin Huber and German Consumer Minister Horst Seehofer.

The popularity of Seehofer, a 58-year-old married father of three, has suffered from the disclosure that he had been having an affair with a younger woman who recently had his baby.

[Jasman0717 9]

Interesting concept Is that like the seven year itch

[almaty 19]

hmmm..similar to contract marriage in the past..where a couple marries for a period of years..lets say 3 years....contracts ends and they decide if they want to continue the contract or move apart...the contract was specific in terms and expectations on both parties...had a couple years ago, and i was the monitor of the contract renewal....they renewed for 5 years...do not know what happen to them though

[DeadPoolX 9]

I can't say I see this affecting marriage too much in a legal sense; however, I would like to think that marriage itself should mean a little more (and be potentially more permanent) than something such as applying for or renewing one's driver's license or passport.

Sure, both of those are important legal documents, but a marriage is to someone you love and the marriage represents that. A driver's license and a passport are, for all intents and purposes, gateways that permit you to travel. There's a bit of a difference between the two.

[Geist 0]

I'm puzzled as to why this should be necessary. Marriage has always been defined by the people in it--if they decide their marriage is just going to last for a certain while, they'll get divorced. If it's important for them to keep it going forever and forever and forever, they will do what is necessary for that to happen.

Not really any need for a law to govern what people have been doing all along...

[Jasman0717 9]

hmmm..similar to contract marriage

I keep thinking about that movie 'Cherry 2000'

[Caladan 19]

Gah. There's a practical worry here. Suppose I get married, quit my job, am a good little housewife wholly dependent on my husband, trad. marriage and all of that. He decides to cheat on me and divorce me. Under a usual arrangement, I might be entitled to some money to support myself on the grounds that I sacrificed a lot by maintaining the home and giving up a career. (This varies by state, but that's the traditional function of alimony.)

Now, all he has to do is let the marriage expire and trade-in for a newer wife.

[Ban Hammer 14,297]

Gah. There's a practical worry here. Suppose I get married, quit my job, am a good little housewife wholly dependent on my husband, trad. marriage and all of that. He decides to cheat on me and divorce me. Under a usual arrangement, I might be entitled to some money to support myself on the grounds that I sacrificed a lot by maintaining the home and giving up a career. (This varies by state, but that's the traditional function of alimony.)

Now, all he has to do is let the marriage expire and trade-in for a newer wife.

now that's an incentive to be a good cook

[Caladan 19]

We're having slow-cooked bbq short ribs tonight.