Mara Carfagna elected into the Chamber of Deputies for Forza Italia, and in the 2008 elections – running as the third candidate from The People of Freedom in the district "Campania 2" – she was reelected. When she first entered parliament Berlusconi jokingly commented that Forza Italia practiced the law of primae noctis; the right of a feudal lord to take the virginity of his female subjects. As a deputy she was secretary of the Commission for Constitutional Affairs, and has been described as a diligent, hard-working parliamentarian. On May 8, 2008 she was appointed Minister for Equal Opportunity, in the fourth
Death and funeral of Helmut Kohl controversial second wife Maike Kohl-Richter however insisted on a burial in a separate tomb in Speyer. After the Church had turned down her request to bury Kohl inside the Speyer Cathedral alongside several Holy Roman Emperors, she decided on a burial in the nearby Old Cemetery. Controversy was caused when Helmut Kohl's controversial new wife Maike Kohl-Richter (formerly Richter) prevented Kohl's children and grandchildren from paying their respects to their deceased father and grandfather. In a statement to the media, Kohl's son Walter Kohl accused her of "tasteless behaviour." Maike Richter was also criticized for attempting to take full control