Politics · Germany · 12 hrs ago
Bundestag rejects AfD lawmaker’s appeal over insult to colleague
The Bundestag rejected Martin Reichardt’s appeal on Friday, leaving in place a fine imposed on the AfD lawmaker.
Reichardt was fined after telling Linke lawmaker Kathrin Gebel she was ignorant about her own clitoris during a debate in Berlin.
He said his remark was a factual statement and appealed because Gebel had used the word in an earlier debate without being formally reprimanded.
That earlier exchange became widely shared after Gebel joked that the clitoris has 3,000 nerve endings, then corrected herself to 10,000.
Bundestag leaders called Reichardt’s comment insulting and disrespectful, and said women should be treated with respect in parliament.
The CDU/CSU, SPD, Greens and Linke voted against his appeal, while the AfD voted in favour; the Bundestag president said similar disrespectful remarks would draw an immediate reprimand in future.
The Bundestag rejected AfD lawmaker Martin Reichardt’s appeal against a fine imposed over a remark about colleague Kathrin Gebel.
The appeal was rejected on Friday, 16 October 2026, with CDU/CSU, SPD, the Greens and the Left voting in favour and the AfD voting against.
Reichardt had said Gebel was showing “ignorance about your own clitoris” during a debate on Thursday.
Deputy Bundestag president Andrea Lindholz imposed the fine, calling the remark insulting and an intrusion into a colleague’s intimate sphere.
Reichardt argued that his comment was a factual statement and questioned why Gebel had not been reprimanded for using the term in an earlier debate.
- Who
- AfD lawmaker Martin Reichardt and Left Party lawmaker Kathrin Gebel. The Bundestag rejected Reichardt’s appeal.
- What
- The Bundestag rejected Reichardt’s appeal against a fine imposed over his remark about Gebel.
- When
- The remark was made on Thursday, 15 October 2026; the appeal was rejected on Friday, 16 October 2026.
- Where
- In the German Bundestag.
- Why
- Reichardt said his remark was a factual statement and challenged the fine. The Bundestag upheld it after finding his conduct violated parliamentary order.
Martin Reichardt
Bundestag leadership
Reason for appeal
Martin Reichardt
Reichardt said his remark was a factual statement and that he used the term because Gebel had used it in an earlier debate.
Bundestag leadership
Lindholz called the remark insulting and an intrusion into a colleague’s intimate sphere; Klöckner said such disrespect would not be accepted.
In a Bundestag debate, Gebel told Reichardt that the clitoris had 3,000 nerve endings and called him more sensitive.
Reichardt made a remark about Gebel’s “ignorance about your own clitoris” during a Bundestag debate, and Lindholz imposed a fine.
Reichardt submitted a written appeal against the fine to Bundestag president Julia Klöckner.
The Bundestag rejected the appeal, with the AfD voting against the decision.
- Fine
- An Ordnungsgeld imposed by Andrea Lindholz
- Appeal vote
- CDU/CSU, SPD, Greens and Left in favour; AfD against
- Reichardt’s remark
- Ignorance about your own clitoris
- Women in the Bundestag
- 32 percent of members, according to Klöckner
3 sources
What people are saying
We will not accept this intrusion and disrespect here as the Presidium.
Enough is enough!
It was a factual statement.
Posts on X
Zwei starke Frauen, stellen sich schützend vor Frauen im Bundestag, gegen Übergriffigkeit! Ich danke der Präsidentin Julia Klöckner und der Vizepräsidentin Andrea Lindholz. So geht Solidarität 🙋♀️💪