Newly elected Chancellor Friedrich Merz, from the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), himself a former lobbyist for global investment firm BlackRock, has taken the somewhat unusual step in German politics of appointing three people directly from the world of business to top cabinet jobs. 

The new minister of economic affairs and energy is Katherina Reiche (CDU), returning to government after a stint as managing director of the Association of Municipal Enterprises (VKU) and CEO of energy provider Westenergie, a subsidiary of one of Europe's largest energy concerns E.ON since 2020. The environmentalist Green Party, now back in opposition, has described her as a "gas lobbyist."

Germany's new culture and media commissioner is media entrepreneur Wolfram Weimer, a former editor-in-chief of right-wing newspaper Welt with no previous experience in government of any kind. 

The Weimer Media Group founded by Weimer and his wife Christiane Goetz-Weimer hosts annual meetings where power players from business, politics and media gather to network. Since his appointment to the cabinet, Weimer has announced that his wife will now take over as sole managing director of the media group.

The new minister for digitalization and state modernization, Karsten Wildberger, gave up his job as CEO of listed electronics retail group Ceconomy, parent company of two of Germany's largest consumer electronics chains MediaMarkt and Saturn, in order to take up his new job. Like Weimer, Wildberger has never been a politician, elected or otherwise.

The socialist Left Party co-leader Ines Schwedtner criticized the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the CDU/CSU's coalition partner in government, for supporting what she called a "CDU lobbyist cabinet."

What is lobbying and how is it regulated in Germany?

While it's not the norm that people from business move straight into cabinet positions in Germany, it is becoming more common, according to Norman Loeckel, an expert on lobbying regulation at anti-corruption organization Transparency Germany.

"It's actually better if you take someone who has the knowledge and expertise than a member of parliament who doesn't. But if there is a conflict of interest, that is a very critical situation and there are no rules curtailing this effectively in Germany," Loeckel told DW.

Lobbying refers to the phenomenon of interest groups attempting to influence political decision-making in their favor, and is central to the functioning of a pluralistic democracy.

Interest groups can include trade and consumer associations, NGOs, charities, foundations, churches, PR agencies that lobby on behalf of clients, think tanks and other research institutes, and state actors such as municipalities or federal ministries.

As of 2022, lobbyists in Germany must register in a database called the Lobby Register. This includes all those who contact members of parliament, their staff, parliamentary groups and the federal government. But there are exceptions: Churches, trade unions and employers' associations are not required by law to register, although they may do so voluntarily.

Anyone who intentionally or negligently fails to register or update information correctly and completely, or not in a timely manner, could be prosecuted under the Lobby Register Act and be hit with a fine of up to €50,000 ($57,000).

Donations to political parties over €10,000 must be published. It was also decided in 2021 that members of the Bundestag would have to declare company shareholdings and additional income of over €1,000 per month or €3,000 per year.

Lawmakers also must abide by the Member of Parliament Act which regulates what secondary activities and income must be declared. It explicitly states that it is illegal to accept money or benefits of a monetary value in return for representing, promoting or protecting particular interests. 

Cabinet ministers are barred from working any type of second job under the Federal Ministers Act, even on a voluntary basis — but this does not apply to the majority of members of parliament who are not in the cabinet. 

Cabinet ministers and deputy ministers who want to switch from politics to business must notify the authorities if they intend to take up employment outside of the public sector. They can be subject to a mandatory "cooling-off" period of up to 18 months.

How big of an issue is lobbying? 

In Germany, more lobbyists have access to the German Bundestag than there are members of parliament. There are currently almost 6,000 companies, associations, organizations, networks, individuals and others on the register — the list of designated employees who directly represent their interests numbers more than 27,000.

Anti-corruption campaign groups, including Transparency Germany and Lobbycontrol, have also long called for the introduction of a so-called "executive footprint" documenting how federal bills came into being. The proposal has found its way into the rules of procedure for government ministries, but these rules are not binding and those who violate them do not face consequences.

"In general in Germany, unless there is a big scandal, nothing happens. Almost all of the rules in Germany that limits lobbying, that bind politicians to certain rules, came into being because of a scandal," Loeckel told DW.

The push for Germany's Lobby Register that led to its introduction in 2022 gained momentum in 2020 after CDU politician Philipp Amthor lobbied for US company Augustus Intelligence in return for stock options. Amthor also wrote letters to the Economy Ministry seeking "political support" for the startup of which he was also a board member.

Cabinet ministers may be barred from having second jobs under the Member of Parliament Act, but this does not apply to other members of the Bundestag. Members of parliament are also not obliged to disclose any assets they or their family members own, aside from company shareholdings of over 5%. The Member of Parliament Act also does not apply to cabinet members like Reiche, Wildberger and Weimer who are not elected members of the Bundestag.

"The only law that ministers have to obey is the Federal Minister Act. In reality the only real regulation is that cabinet ministers cannot have second jobs and that there must be a cooling-off period before switching from politics to business," said Loeckel.

The cooling-off period was introduced in 2015 after a number of scandals, most prominently involving former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder of the SPD. Shortly before leaving office in 2005, Schröder signed a deal between Germany and Russian state-owned Gazprom to build the NordStream 1 gas pipeline, and then joined the board of directors of the NordStream joint venture.

While the so-called "revolving door" between business and politics may be slowed by the cooling-off period, Transparency Germany wants this extended from a minimum of 18 months to a maximum of three years if conflicts arise.

"In theory, you also have the code of conduct but it is not a law and you can break the rules and nobody will care. If there's no scandal there's no problem, at least from their point of view," said Loeckel.

Edited by: Rina Goldenberg

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