When the Federal Court of Auditors wanted to know what was happening in the offices of the former Chancellors Helmut Schmidt, Helmut Kohl and Gerhard Schröder, some of the employees there were very unwilling.

You said the documents were "private" and that's why the Federal Court of Auditors has nothing to do with them.

That was a very clumsy answer.

If anything concerns the Federal Audit Office at all, then it is the use of federal funds for "private" interests.

The state does not finance anything private.

Justus Bender

Editor in the politics of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

  • Follow I follow

So the investigation took place and it turned out that a former Chancellor had commissioned his office to coordinate construction work on a private house.

The employees seconded by the state negotiated with construction companies and took care of craftsmen's bills.

In one case, office staff supported “the wife of a former Chancellor.

D. in her writing activities”, as stated in the report of the Federal Court of Auditors.

In another case, the office was no longer managed by the former Chancellor.

Because his health was constantly poor, his wife acted as boss and commanded the officials.

The Federal Court of Auditors keeps to itself which former Federal Chancellor is meant, but the audit took place from 2013 to 2015.

One can guess which former Chancellor was in poor health at the time and had a wife who was still alive.

Federal funds only for federal tasks

When it became known that Gerhard Schröder had been nominated for Gazprom's supervisory board, the anger about the free offices flared up again.

There have been calls for Schroeder to be ousted from his office, and it has been resonated that the chancellery cannot pay staff to promote Russia's gas deals while other state officials, such as at the Foreign Office, are busy containing Russia's aggression.

If Schröder were to use his former chancellor's office in this way, it would also be legally vulnerable.

The Federal Court of Auditors is of the opinion that federal funds can only be used for federal tasks.

For example, if a former Chancellor has "continuing obligations" from his office.

Businesses that make money are not included.

Schröder let the FAS know that he "maintains a private office and a law firm in Hanover for activities aimed at generating income".

This was checked by the Federal Court of Auditors for the years 2013 to 2015, when Schröder was already working for Nord Stream.

Since then, however, the state has again had no overview.

In practice, Schröder can use his office however he wants.

The legal opinion of the Federal Audit Office is nothing more than that: an opinion.

If Schröder sticks to it, he will do so voluntarily, just like former Chancellor Angela Merkel, who let it be known that her "retired office" will not be "private activities" or "activities aimed at income". support.

There is no law in which the tasks are regulated.

Everything is based on decisions of the budget committee and a confused tradition.

As former chancellor, Konrad Adenauer was given a single speaker at the expense of the CDU.

Ludwig Erhard a secretary and a consultant at state expense.

In 1967, the Budget Committee of the Bundestag added a chauffeur.

In 1974 there was already a consultant, a clerk, a secretary and a chauffeur.

Later: two office managers, three clerks, a secretary and a chauffeur.

Merkel got an office manager, a deputy, two speakers, three clerks and two drivers.

She benefited from the fact that a restriction decided in 2019 does not yet apply to her.

All future former chancellors will only have five employees instead of nine.

There are no plans to check whether they then renovate houses, help wives write books or even manage supervisory board mandates.