The Hamburg offshoot of the Cum-ex affair is doubly burdensome for the SPD.
It does not do well for a party that wants to be there for the weak to suspect that it has been covering for the strong even after they have enriched themselves at the expense of the general public.
The SPD-led Hamburg government is said to have saved the Warburg-Bank millions in repayments to the tax authorities in 2016.
So far, the Hamburg SPD has only been able to contribute to the clarification to a certain extent.
It runs on the doorstep of the mayor's office.
Because the affair affects Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his successor as First Mayor, Peter Tschentscher, formerly Finance Senator under Scholz.
Not really believable
So far, Scholz has referred to gaps in memory on crucial issues.
That's not really credible.
A mayor of the Hanseatic city can't remember the content of discussions with the shareholders of his city's most important bank?
But Scholz can maintain the impression that he didn't have his fingers in the game.
A lavish load of banknotes in the locker of Johannes Kahrs, the former SPD member of the Bundestag who is being investigated in the Cum-ex case, is now raising new questions.
Maybe Kahrs has a good explanation.
It will depend on whether Scholz calls out to him: You'll never walk alone.