CDU appearance in police uniform
Disciplinary proceedings against Pechstein ongoing
7/5/2023 9:04 p.m
Before appearing in a police uniform at a CDU convention, Claudia Pechstein claims to have asked her superiors for approval. According to the federal police, this permission was not given. A legal procedure is now beginning against the speed skater.
According to a report, the federal police have initiated disciplinary proceedings against speed skater Claudia Pechstein. The reason is Pechstein’s appearance at the CDU policy convention in June in service uniform, the “Bild” newspaper reported. According to the police service regulations, the service clothing “may not be worn at political events,” according to the report in the letter initiating the proceedings.
A “permission or permission to wear the uniform” was not available, it said. It was also criticized that Pechstein had commented on “general political issues” without making it clear that this was a “purely personal opinion”. Pechstein and the federal police did not want to comment on the newspaper’s request because it was an ongoing process. Pechstein now has two weeks to comment orally and four weeks to comment in writing, it said.
Pechstein’s appearance had often triggered criticism, especially from the SPD and the Greens. In addition to the uniform, that was also due to the content of her speech, in which she was supposed to talk about strengthening club and school sport. Pechstein also addressed general political issues. She called for faster deportations of rejected asylum seekers and was critical of gender language. CDU leader Merz described Pechstein’s appearance as “brilliant”, while other CDU politicians spoke of populism.
Green: Role of Merz open
Pechstein himself had previously stated that he had consulted both a federal police union representative and a supervisor prior to the appearance. She was therefore free to appear in uniform. “Mrs. Pechstein has not reported her appearance to the supervisors currently responsible, i.e. neither the hundred management nor the department management,” says a letter from the Ministry of the Interior when asked by the Greens, about which the editorial network Germany reported.
The parliamentary director of the Greens parliamentary group, Irene Mihalic, told the RND: “With regard to the role of the CDU and Friedrich Merz, the question remains open as to whether Claudia Pechstein was at least suggested to appear in uniform with the aim of the corresponding staging. “