German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has sprung to the defense of his government's Culture and Media Commissioner who was recently accused of a conflict of interests regarding the hosting of a private media summit at which companies can pay for access to ministers.

"The accusations which have been leveled at Wolfram Weimer have been proven to be false," Merz told German public broadcaster ARD on the sidelines of the G20 summit in South Africa this weekend.

What exactly is Weimer accused of?

Until taking on the role of Culture and Media Commissioner for the German government in May 2025, Weimer and his wife Christiane Goetz-Weimer headed up the "Weimer Media Group" which, since 2014, has organized and hosted the "Ludwig Erhard Summit" [named after a former German chancellor] on the banks of the Tegernsee lake in Bavaria, just south of Munich.

Participants from the private sector can reportedly pay up to €80,000 ($92,500) to take part in the summit and for the opportunity to come into contact with senior politicians.

According to the summit's website, the 2026 edition will feature Economy Minister Katherina Reiche and Chancellery Minister Thorsten Frei, both of Merz's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), as well as Research and Technology Minister Dorothee Bär and Agriculture Minister Alois Rainer of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).

The Swiss broadsheet Neue Zürcher Zeitung reported last week that Frei and Bär had distanced themselves from the summit's "Executive Night" but the pair are still listed as speakers, as is Bavarian Premier Markus Söder (CSU).

"When, as with the Ludwig Erhard Summit, tickets for events with politicians and especially government members are sold for thousands of euros, it always leaves a bad taste in the mouth," Social Democrat (SPD) lawmaker Ralf Stegner told t-online on Monday, while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has called for Weimer's resignation. 

Merz: 'Nothing is being sold'

For Chancellor Merz, the fact that the Media Commissioner is facing criticism from both left and right "only confirms my impression that he is doing a good job."

Weimer insists that he gave up all of his responsibilities, positions and voting rights with the Weimer Media Group when he joined the government last year, and that he has transferred his shares in the company to a blind trust.

However, he has rejected calls to cancel the summit altogether, arguing that this would be tantamount to "banning my wife from doing her job."

Weimer, whose State Ministry for Culture and Media also oversees the budget of Deutsche Welle, had repeatedly argued in recent days that the criticism against him mainly comes from the right-wing populist camp.

For Merz, there is therefore nothing more to say on the issue. "Nothing is being sold," he told ARD. "It's the sort of event which numerous other media companies also regularly organize."

A government spokesman added that any ministers taking part in the Ludwig Erhard Summit would receive "neither renumeration nor any other services."

This article was originally published in German and adapted by Matt Ford.

Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez