In the tense relationship between politics, social development and queer lifestyles, emancipation and regression often lie close together. Klaus Lederer, former mayor of Berlin and senator for culture, reflects on this in his essay ‘Queerpolitik im Handgemenge’ (Queer Politics in the Melee), published in March by Querverlag, which looks at recent history since 1990. Pieke Biermann, author and translator with a feminist West Berlin background, and Lederer, who is gay and comes from East Berlin, talk about these ambivalences, their experiences, paths and missteps – and then look at the challenges of the present.

Pieke Biermann, born in 1950, is a writer (three-time winner of crime fiction awards, author of “the Berlin Quartet” published by Argument in collaboration with Ariadne) and a translator (winner of the 2020 Leipzig Book Fair Translation Prize). A graduate in politics, linguistics and literature, she was active in the feminist movement in West Berlin during the 1970s and 1980s.

Klaus Lederer, born in 1974, is an independent Member of Parliament and spokesperson for queer politics for the Left Party faction in the Berlin House of Representatives. A doctor of law, author (including “Mit links die Welt retten”, Kanon 2024) and publicist, he served as Mayor and Senator for Culture and Europe in Berlin from 2016 to 2023.