CDU in perhaps the worst crisis since the donation affair

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Berlin (dpa) - The involvement of Union politicians in business with the purchase of corona protective masks has brought the Union into its worst crisis for over 20 years from the point of view of parliamentary group vice-president Gitta Connemann.

«We are in the worst crisis since the donation affair.

Only if we react with all consistency and severity will we be able to regain trust, ”said Connemann of the“ Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung ”.

The CDU was badly shaken by the donation affair in 1999/2000.

The background to the current crisis is the mask business of MPs Georg Nüßlein (CSU) and Nikolas Löbel (CDU).

The public prosecutor's office is investigating Nüßlein because of the initial suspicion of bribery.

Löbel has admitted that his company has received commissions of around 250,000 euros for brokering sales contracts for corona protective masks.

The public prosecutor's office checks whether there is sufficient initial suspicion to initiate investigative proceedings.

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Both politicians have since left their respective parties.

Löbel resigned from the Bundestag with immediate effect.

Nüßlein no longer wants to run for the Bundestag in the autumn.

Union faction leader Ralph Brinkhaus (CDU) called on the ZDF program “Markus Lanz” Nüßlein to give up his mandate.

For his group it is clear: "Earning money from the crisis, that is not possible".

That is “simply immoral” and also discredits all other colleagues who “cracked” during the crisis.

Accordingly, the anger in the group is "very, very great".

With reference to the sums in question of commissions of several hundred thousand euros, Brinkhaus said: “That is crazy.

That is more than the Chancellor deserves. "

Union faction vice-chairman Thorsten Frei (CDU) appealed, like CDU leader Armin Laschet, to his own ranks to disclose possible further cases.

“Every MP knows exactly what it is about.

It would be better to answer immediately for any mistakes made and to quickly draw the necessary conclusions, "said Frei of the" Rheinische Post ".

"Sitting out is not acceptable."

When asked whether he expected further cases, Frei said: "That cannot be ruled out, but at the moment pure speculation."

Brinkhaus and CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt announced stricter rules for the Union faction on Monday.

In the “Augsburger Allgemeine” (Wednesday), parliamentary group vice-president Frei stated that the previous ten-step model for the publication of income on the Internet should be revised.

He is confident that there will be a solution during this legislative period.

Currently, the system is staggered according to amounts from 1000 to over 250,000 euros income per month.

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The SPD does not go far enough with the union announcements.

"Anyone who announces real clarification and consequences cannot be satisfied with internal guidelines and voluntary commitments," said SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil of the "Rheinische Post".

The Union must follow the words of outrage from party and parliamentary groups with serious deeds.

For its part, the SPD parliamentary group relies on a ten-point plan.

Bribery and corruption of members of parliament should therefore no longer be classified as an offense, but as a crime with at least one year imprisonment.

SPD parliamentary group leader Carsten Schneider warned that the Union must now prove that it was serious.

"The coming days will be decisive," he told the "Saarbrücker Zeitung" (Wednesday).

The parliamentary manager of the Greens, Britta Haßelmann, emphasized that the CDU / CSU clearly had a structural problem here.

"That is why it is particularly challenged to ensure stricter rules," said Haßelmann of the "Passauer Neue Presse" (Wednesday).

Baden-Württemberg's Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens), on the other hand, spoke of misconduct by individuals on Thursday evening at a speech duel in the "Südwest Presse" on the state election.

"You should first name it that way and not speculate around," said Kretschmann.

The domestic political spokesman for the Union parliamentary group, Mathias Middelberg (CDU), warned in the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" (Wednesday) to carefully differentiate between corruption and the commitment of a member of parliament to his constituency.

Vice-Free of the parliamentary group also rejected a ban on secondary employment.

In view of the independence of MPs, it is “even desirable that he does not only earn his money with politics”, said Frei of the “Augsburger Allgemeine”.

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FDP parliamentary group leader Marco Buschmann also emphasized that if parliament is to be a mirror of society, professional practice and sideline activities must be possible.

FDP MPs had forwarded offers for protective equipment and made contacts in order to help cope with the pandemic.

"In contrast to the Union, however, there is no evidence of financial compensation or other advantages," said Buschmann of the "world".

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