Acknowledging high divorce rates and the well-known term limit for most wedded relationships, German politician Gabriele Pauli proposes that all marriages be sanctioned with a seven-year expiration date, at which point couples either re-affirm their union or else amicably split.

Really not a bad idea. You’re required to renew other licenses via demonstrated competency: Driver’s, fishing, professional certifications — why not for marriage?

Somehow, Pauli is running for the leadership of the Bavaria’s Christian Social Union party, about as conservative a poli-club as you’ll find in Europa. And to boot, she represents the same area which the current Pope calls his home region. Not exactly the ideal proving ground for radical experimentation with a sacred institution.

Then again, not every politician does magazine spreads wearing dominatrix-like latex garb. I suppose even that gets old after seven or so years, though.