Pressure rises on German lawmaker over COVID mask scandal
February 26, 2021
The corruption scandal around conservative lawmaker Georg Nüsslein is "infuriating," center-left MP Dirk Wiese has told DW. Nüsslein was reportedly bribed by a face mask producer.
Georg Nüsslein has protested his innocenceImage: Christoph Hardt/Geisler-Fotopres/picture alliance
The lawmaker also temporarily stepped down from his position as deputy leader of the ruling conservative bloc in the Bundestag.
Nüsslein's case 'quite appalling'
Speaking to DW, Bundestag deputy Dirk Wiese said he was surprised and angered by the scandal.
"The fact that something like this is possible is quite appalling," said Wiese, who is a member of the center-left Social Democrats.
"And it is also infuriating, because in those cases, the reputation of politicians as a whole is stained," he said. "And that always angers me."
Pushing for a registry of lobbyists
Wiese also accused his conservative colleagues of "blocking" a proposed registry of lobbyists that would prevent such cases in the future. He described the latest allegations as a "warning shot."
"We need to finally get this moving, get more transparency. And we need to finally get a lobby registry for the parliament," Wiese said.
Germany's major political parties — What you need to know
There are seven political parties in the German Bundestag and they rarely agree on anything. DW takes a look at their ideologies, leadership and history.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Schmidt
Christian Democratic Union (CDU)
The CDU has traditionally been the main center-right party across Germany, but it shifted toward the center under Chancellor Angela Merkel. The party remains more fiscally and socially conservative compared to parties on the left. It supports membership of the EU and NATO, budgetary discipline at home and abroad and generally likes the status quo. It is the largest party in the Bundestag.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Schmidt
Christian Social Union (CSU)
The CSU is the sister party of the CDU in Bavaria and the two act symbiotically at the national level (CDU/CSU). Despite their similarities, the CSU is generally more conservative than the CDU on social issues. The CSU leader and premier of Bavaria, Markus Söder, ordered crosses in every state building in 2018.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Schuldt
Social Democrats (SPD)
The SPD is Germany's oldest political party and the main center-left rival of the CDU/CSU. It shares the CDU/CSU support for the EU and NATO, but it takes a more progressive stance on social issues and welfare policies. It is currently in a coalition government with the CDU/CSU and is trying to win back support under interim leaders Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel, Manuela Schwesig and Malu Dreyer.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/W. Kumm
Alternative for Germany (AfD)
The new kid on the block is the largest opposition party in the Bundestag. The far-right party was founded in 2013 and entered the Bundestag for the first time in 2017 under the stewardship of Alice Weidel and Alexander Gauland. It is largely united by opposition to Merkel's immigration policy, euroscepticism, and belief in the alleged dangers posed by Germany's Muslim population.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U. Deck
Free Democrats (FDP)
The FDP has traditionally been the kingmaker of German politics. Although it has never received more than 15 percent of the vote, it has formed multiple coalition governments with both the CDU/CSU and SPD. The FDP, today led by Christian Lindner, supports less government spending and lower taxes, but takes a progressive stance on social issues such as gay marriage or religion.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/W. Kumm
The Greens
The Greens, led today by Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck, emerged from the environmental movement in the 1980s. Unsuprisingly, it supports efforts to fight climate change and protect the environment. It is also progressive on social issues. But strong divisions have occasionally emerged on other topics. The party famously split in the late 1990s over whether to use military force in Kosovo.
Image: picture-alliance/Eventpress Rekdal
The Left
The Left, led by Katja Kipping and Bernd Riexinger, is the most left-wing party in the Bundestag. It supports major redistribution of wealth at home and a pacifist stance abroad, including withdrawing Germany from NATO. It emerged from the successor party to the Socialist Unity Party (SED) that ruled communist East Germany until 1989. Today, it still enjoys most of its support in eastern Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Gambarini
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Also on Friday, the general secretary of Nüsslein's CSU party, Markus Blume, admitted that his colleague was facing "serious charges" that would need to be "cleared up without any gaps."
At the same time, a party representative confirmed that CSU leaders spoke with Nüsslein.
"There is still the presumption of innocence," the spokesperson said.
The CSU is the Bavarian sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats.
What are the details of the case?
Media reports claim the 51-year-old received €660,000 ($800,000) via a consultancy firm to ensure a face mask producer was awarded government contracts.
The Bundestag, the lower house of Germany's parliament, voted unanimously to lift his immunity.
Nüsslein's lawyer reiterated the politician's claims of innocence.
"Our client will defend himself from the charges raised by the prosecutors," Gero Himmelsbach told the Reuters news agency.
However, it was unclear when Nüsslein will be able to publicly comment on the charges amid the "obviously complex investigation."
The move comes after investigators raided 13 properties in Germany and Liechtenstein over the charges.
