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North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Armin Laschet
Photo: Marcel Kusch / dpa
A surprising contact between the fashion manufacturer van Laack and the Düsseldorf State Chancellery aroused the interest of the opposition in North Rhine-Westphalia: According to van Laack owner Christian von Daniels, the prime minister's son, fashion blogger Johannes »Joe« Laschet, had the door for you big deal with smocks and masks opened.
The SPD parliamentary group senses "Influencer Marketing in the State Chancellery" and wants to know exactly what it is all about via a small inquiry in the state parliament.
Van Laack owner of Daniels has been working with Johannes Laschet for years.
"I told Joe that he can give his father my number if the country needs help getting masks," von Daniels told the Rheinische Post.
SPD wants to check commission for brokering activities
Prime Minister Armin Laschet actually called on a Sunday evening and said that the van Laack boss was running in open doors.
"Two days later his employees were sitting with us in the conference room and had a look at our masks and smocks," von Daniels told the newspaper.
According to earlier information from the Ministry of Health, the fashion manufacturer from Mönchengladbach has delivered several million surgical gowns and masks to the country.
The responsible State Office for Central Police Services (LZPD) recently ordered a further 1.25 million everyday masks for the police from van Laack.
The SPD parliamentary group now senses "Influencer Marketing in the State Chancellery" - and now asks in a small question: "What influence did Joe Laschet's business relationships with the fashion manufacturer van Laack have on the state government's awarding of contracts?" The opposition wants the state government to provide a list of all orders that went to the company.
In addition, the SPD asks what time has elapsed between Prime Minister Laschet's telephone call with Christian von Daniels, mentioned in the "Rheinische Post", and the first contract award by the state government to van Laack.
In addition, the SPD wants to know which other bidders there were and whether there were "commissions for brokerage activities".
Johannes Laschet did not respond to a request from the dpa news agency.
He was previously known as a fashion advisor to his father.
In a WDR broadcast last week, Armin Laschet said that his son also gave him tips on how to cut suits, pants and shirts.
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mfh / dpa