The lawsuit is unlikely to break off coalition negotiations between the SPD, Greens and FDP, but it has a political aftertaste.
The citizens' movement Finanzwende, founded and led by the former Green finance politician Gerhard Schick, wants to force the SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz to be more transparent about his meetings as finance minister with lobby associations of the finance industry.
For this purpose, Finanzwende Recherche GmbH, a non-profit limited liability company of the citizens' movement, sued the Federal Ministry of Finance for the data to be surrendered.
Markus Frühauf
Editor in business.
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The subsidiary of the citizens' movement responsible for consumer protection, education, research and research wants to know with which banks, insurers and associations Scholz met as finance minister.
The answer is still pending.
Instead, the ministry emphasizes how important it is to exchange ideas with associations and companies and refuses to provide information, criticizes Finanzwende.
According to their information, it is not about the content of the discussions, but only about the dates.
"Simply monstrous"
Marcus Wolf, finance turnaround advisor for lobbying issues, is amazed at the negative attitude of the finance ministry: "At this point it is about a minimum of transparency." Why the ministry is masonry here is inexplicable.
Wolf considers the claim that the publication of dates could hinder government action to be "simply outrageous".
Schick wants to create a counterweight to the financial lobby with his citizens' movement.
This often exerts a harmful influence in the financial sector, says Wolf, referring to the Cum-Ex deals or Wirecard.
Scholz has come under fire in connection with cum-ex deals because of his meetings with representatives of the Hamburg private bank MM Warburg.