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Chancellor Olaf Scholz

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In the dispute over the-ex committee of inquiry planned by the Union in the Bundestag, the dispute is coming to a head, according to SPIEGEL information. Above all, the CDU and CSU want to clarify the role of SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz as Hamburg's head of government at the time in dealing with the business of the local Warburg Bank, while the Social Democrats reject large parts of the list of questions presented.

"If the SPD already provides for a reduced list of questions, we will in any case sue in Karlsruhe."

The CDU/CSU is astonished by the SPD's determination, which apparently even the hearing of experts on the investigative mandate will not change. It is to be adopted by the Rules Committee on 15 June and then questioned by the committee on 22 June.

"I assume that the hearing of the experts will be open-ended," says Patrick Schnieder, parliamentary secretary of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group. However, the CDU politician emphasizes: "If the SPD already provides for a reduced list of questions, we will in any case sue in Karlsruhe."

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The dispute could therefore end up before the Federal Constitutional Court. "The Union has not moved significantly so far," says Johannes Fechner, parliamentary secretary of the SPD parliamentary group.

The clarification of the events in Hamburg, where there is already a-ex committee of inquiry in the parliament, is the responsibility of the state, the questions of the committee of inquiry must have a federal reference. Fechner continues: "We want to decide on the establishment of the committee of inquiry before the summer break, but at best with a significantly reduced list of questions within the scope of our responsibilities."

The Social Democrats accuse the CDU and CSU of wanting to discredit Scholz with the committee. Their suspicion: The CDU and CSU want to drag out the work of the body as much as possible in order to damage Scholz in the direction of the 2025 federal election campaign.