Friday March 26th 2021
Agreement between the Union and the SPD
Transparency rules for MPs are tightened
The scandals surrounding the lucrative mask business have consequences. The government groups agree on stricter transparency rules. Far-reaching disclosure requirements are to be introduced for income from secondary employment.
After the scandals surrounding the lucrative mask business, the coalition factions agreed on stricter transparency rules for MPs. Far-reaching disclosure requirements are to be introduced for income from secondary employment and company investments, as stated in several reports. Details should therefore be made known in the course of the day.
It is planned that smaller income from secondary employment and smaller investments in corporations than before will have to be published. The parliamentary manager of the SPD parliamentary group, Carsten Schneider, confirmed the agreement in the session of parliament. “It’s good that we can do that now,” he said. “We will present a bill in the next week of the session.” According to his information, income from secondary activities and company investments should be notifiable in the future if they exceed EUR 1,000 per month or EUR 3,000 per year. Some MPs did business in vulture fashion during the crisis, Schneider criticized. It is only appropriate for the citizens to know that no one else is influencing the MPs.
“A bad week for the Union”
As a reaction to the latest corruption investigations against Union politicians, the CSU had previously imposed a stricter internal party approach to additional income from elected officials. In a special meeting, the party executive unanimously decided on a ten-point catalog of measures, which for example provides that all incumbent and all future elected officials grant “full transparency” of their ancillary income and must disclose this party and parliaments.
“This was a bad week for the Union,” said party leader Markus Söder. The Union’s credibility is at stake. At the same time, the current polls indicated a trend and the risk of a mood of change in the country. It is therefore important to show a clear line and clear leadership. If you lose your nerve, you will also lose future elections.
The background to the tougher pace is the recently made known corruption investigations in the course of the mask affair against CSU politicians such as the former Bavarian Justice Minister and Member of Parliament Alfred Sauter. The investigations are related to the purchase of corona protective masks by the state. Sauter, like the member of the Bundestag Georg Nüßlein, who has since left the CSU and against whom corruption investigations are also underway, rejects all allegations.
.