These were special payments – for Christmas, because of Corona, for successful election campaigns. The problem: The member of the Bundestag Baerbock would have had to give this money to the Bundestag administration as secondary income.
Now you know: she hasn’t done that for a long time.
Clear rule violation
It is a clear violation of the rules of the Green Chancellor candidate, which became known this Wednesday. The “Bild” newspaper reported on it, a Green spokeswoman confirmed.
According to this, Baerbock only reported the secondary income in March 2021, “after she and the federal Office of the party had noticed that this had not happened by mistake”, it says from the Green Party headquarters. Actually, mps have only three months for reporting.
It is a delicate phase, back in the spring. The Union is sinking into a swamp of mask affairs and corruption scandals. In the Bundestag, the debate on stricter rules for parliamentarians is boiling up. Right in the middle of it is the party that likes to act as the highest transparency watchdog: the Greens.
Ironically, at the top of the Eco-one has made a mistake now when it comes to money? It is a dangerous mistake. A glitch that could weigh heavily on Baerbock and the Greens in this election campaign.
After all, it is about the credibility of the Greens, who must be measured by their own political standards.
For the eco-message is untimely. After her nomination, Baerbock had started furiously as a candidate for chancellor. The media response was largely positive, with the Greens passing the CDU and CSU in the polls.
Cracks in the election campaign
But last but not least, the first cracks opened up in the Green election campaign: The party exclusion proceedings against permanent troublemaker Boris Palmer are likely to become a disruptive factor for months. The grassroots Greens overwhelm the top with thousands of amendments to the electoral programme. Baerbock himself succumbed to first blunders and inconsistencies. In addition, there were violent, sometimes desert and sometimes mendacious attacks against them on social networks.
The result: The uptrend in the polls seems to have slowed down for the time being. The candidate last looked unsettled. In a TV duel with SPD opponent Olaf Scholz, Baerbock barely managed to get on the offensive.
It would depend exactly on it now. Baerbock, who is so respected for her detailed knowledge, must now carry the great Green narrative into the country. It is about visions, about change – about the question why the Greens of all people should lead the next government.
The issue of ancillary income forces the candidate into the defensive role instead. Especially since the matter raises further questions.
The bonus system, apparently common among the Greens, is quite remarkable. The party spokeswoman told DER SPIEGEL the individual posts:
Performance-related payments for chairpersons? Corona money for politicians who are more than protected with their diets? For comparison: According to information from the Konrad Adenauer House, there is nothing like this for the party leadership in the competition from the CDU.
Declared as the “corona-related special payments,” the Greens spokeswoman, these are office “in the same amount to all employees of the Federal government, as well as to the party’s Board” gone “because the year has meant for all of the efforts and special expenses”.
At first only vague information
Baerbock initially stated the sums only vaguely, in accordance with the tiered system for secondary income applicable in the Bundestag. Initially, there was talk of 17,500 to 37,000 euros, which Baerbock is said to have received.
And this despite the fact that the Greens themselves demand a detailed display on euros and cents. More transparency, however, must be mandatory for all, it was initially said by the Greens. Only upon request did the party headquarters confirm the specific amount.
After all: Since Baerbock has registered the income unsolicited, the case for the Bundestag administration should probably be done. At least that is what the party assumes. A response from the Bundestag Presidium to a SPIEGEL request is still pending.
In addition, there is no evidence of further financial inaccuracies among the Greens. Apart from the additional payments now reported, Baerbock only received fees for her forthcoming book as collateral income,the party reported: in February and May 12,322.50 euros each. She generally does not accept money for speeches and performances.
