‘The time is ripe’: ex-helicopter engineer poised to be Germany’s first female president

Backed by MPs from across the political divide, Bavarian Ilse Aigner offers an approachability and warmth the chancellor lacks Germany has had 12 presidents since the end of the second world war, all of them men. Now, for the first time, the federal republic is on the brink of getting a female head of state. But Ilse Aigner, the lead candidate for the post, is unusual in more ways than one. “No law degree. No marriage. No penis,” is how the left-leaning Taz newspaper put it this week – a wry, if blunt, assessment of what a break with history the 61-year-old Bavarian represents. Continue reading...