Herrmann calls on Roth to resign

Following the statements critical of Israel made by some filmmakers during the closing gala of the Berlinale, Bavaria's State Chancellor Florian Herrmann (CSU) has called on Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) to resign due to what he sees as too late a reaction.

"What happened at the Berlinale appalls us greatly," said Herrmann on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting in Munich. "This open anti-Semitism in the cultural scene is appalling and is unacceptable in this form." It is problematic that "in the midst of this, the responsible Federal Minister of Culture, Claudia Roth, is floundering around". "Either she lacks a compass to deal with these things sensibly, or the compass is set incorrectly." In any case, Roth's "repeated failure" to react to such incidents has caused irreparable damage to Germany. "Ms Roth is obviously completely overwhelmed by this task, which is why she has also become unacceptable as Federal Minister of Culture and must resign," said Herrmann.

However, when asked later, he emphasized that there had been no vote on this in the cabinet. This was his personal opinion as media and film minister.

The Middle East conflict was discussed several times during the Berlinale Gala on Saturday evening. Numerous jury members and award winners called for a ceasefire in the Gaza war, either verbally or with badges. At the end of his acceptance speech for an award, US director Ben Russell spoke of genocide. The remarks were subsequently met with criticism and outrage. Roth has since announced an investigation into the incidents and personally condemned them.

Herrmann, however, criticized that this was done too late. Roth should have distanced himself "immediately". "That must be an impulse that is unquestionable, and I lack that." Herrmann added: "From our point of view, it is clear that statements made by artists on stage cannot be directly attributed to her. That is logical. But it's about how to deal with it."

On Monday, CSU leader Markus Söder had already called on Roth to clarify the incidents, but avoided demanding her resignation, as Herrmann has now done.

Like other CDU/CSU politicians, Herrmann did not include Berlin's governing mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) in the criticism. Wegner and Roth followed the gala in close proximity. The Berlinale is funded by the federal government and subsidized by the state of Berlin.