How do you solve the problem of the seven-year itch? With the seven-year marriage. That's the solution to the age-old curse proposed by Bavarian politician Gabriele Pauli, best known in Germany for posing for a glossy magazine wearing elbow-length latex gloves and an enigmatic smile.
"The basic approach is wrong ... many marriages last just because people believe they are safe," said Ms Pauli in Munich. "My suggestion is that marriages should expire after seven years."
After that time, she said, out-of-love couples could walk away from each other, sparing "financial and emotional heartache". Still-in-love couples could say "I do" for another seven-year round.
The suggestion from the two-time divorcee came at the launch of her campaign to become leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the conservative political party that has ruled Bavaria for half a century.
Ms Pauli first attracted national attention last December after complaining that aides of CSU leader Edmund Stoiber had been digging for dirt in her private life.
The scandal snowballed and forced Mr Stoiber to announce he would stand down this month after 14 years in power.
Ms Pauli has since attracted a large fan base around Germany. Visitors to her website are greeted with a photograph of her in black lederhosen, sitting astride a motorbike.
Her seven-year marriage idea will be popular if unrealisable in Germany, where nearly every second marriage ends in divorce.
But she has probably blown her chance to lead Germany's most conservative and Catholic state, particularly in a race dominated by three political heavyweight, male competitors.
One of those competitors, federal agriculture minister Horst Seehofer, called on Ms Pauli to pull out of the leadership race yesterday. "It's an absurd idea and totally contrary to the programme of the CSU," he said.
Mr Seehofer was unable to resist the seven-year itch when it struck like clockwork last year, 21 years into his second marriage. In June his mistress, a Bundestag secretary, gave birth to a baby boy. However, Mr Seehofer ended the relationship after the birth to stay with his wife and family.