Overview

• After announcing her pregnancy last week, Verena Hubertz shared hostile comments she received, including “Das arme Kind” and “Mütter sollen an den Herd.”
• She wrote that millions of women balance family and career and said she wants to be a role model showing that high office and parenthood can coexist.
• Hubertz plans to work through December with some limitations, take roughly three months of maternity leave around the birth, and have her partner take parental leave.
• Friedrich Merz congratulated her and called it “infam” to condemn a minister, adding that the state must support parents and enable work–family compatibility.
• The case has broadened into a debate over sexism, childcare constraints and the rarity of federal ministers having children while in office, with her baby due in January 2026.