Corruption fighters have long been calling for more transparency in dealing with lobbyists. But what does the population think about it? On behalf of the transparency initiative Abgeordnetenwatch.de the opinion research institute Infratest dimap has pursued this question and carried out a representative survey. The result is clear: more than three-quarters of Germans criticize the influence of lobbyists on German politics.
More in the SPIEGEL
Issue 17/2019
Who believes that?
Why even Christians no longer need a godDigital Edition | Printed Edition | Apps | SUBSCRIPTION
According to the survey, 82 percent of the respondents consider the influence of corporate and association lobbyists to be "too high" (35 percent) or "far too high" (47 percent). Also 82 percent are of the opinion that lobbyism in Germany must be more regulated.
Moreover, 77 percent are in favor of more transparency - for example, by the introduction of an internet register, in which politicians and lobbyists meet.
Such a register is widely accepted across the political spectrum - among supporters of the SPD (81 percent) as well as the CDU (70 percent). "Backroom lobbying is jeopardizing our democracy, and the grand coalition must make sure that all lobbying meetings are visible with a strong law," says Roman Ebener of Abgeordnetenwatch.de.
This topic comes from the new SPIEGEL magazine - available at the kiosk from Saturday morning and every Friday at SPIEGEL + and in the digital magazine edition.
What is in the new SPIEGEL and what stories you find at SPIEGEL +, you will also learn in our free policy newsletter DIE LAGE, which appears six times a week - compact, analytical, opinionated, written by the political minds of the editorial.