“Mask affair” in the CDU and CSU: Corruption, lobbying - what is it about? And what are the consequences?

Mask affair at CDU / CSU: The corruption scandal could affect the federal election in 2021.

What consequences have already been drawn.

Berlin - "In the last 20 years this has certainly been one of the worst crises that we have been

through

as a Union," said Thorsten Frei, the Union's deputy parliamentary group leader at

Bild Live,

about the mask affair.

“Difficult above all because it's a credibility crisis.

We are dealing here with a loss of trust that we have to fix fundamentally. ”That will probably take longer.

Harsh words come from the coalition partner SPD: “In parts of the CDU and CSU, the principle that one hand washes the other has repeatedly come to light.

The detergent is money - and some of these parties are particularly close, ”said SPD leader Norbert Walter-Borjans of the

Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

"To campaign on a topic that is likely to impair the citizens' trust in democratic processes is like playing with fire," warned Frei again.

In return, he described it as "desirable if the coalition partner would follow suit and also impose a code of honor," he told the dpa.

Mask affair at CDU / CSU: Those are those involved - it's about 660,000 euros in one case

At the center of the so-called mask affair are Georg Nüßlein (CSU) and Nikolaus Löbel (CDU) as well as Mark Hauptmann (CDU).

Nüßlein and Löbel are accused of corruption, Hauptmann above all lobbying.

But there are also other names.

The cases in detail:

• Georg Nüßlein (CSU)

  : In the summer of 2020, a textile company from Hesse is said to have turned to Georg Nüßlein (CSU), who was part of the Bundestag health committee, according to research by

  Business Insider

  .

  Nüßlein is said to have campaigned for the award of contracts to the company - and in return collected 660,000 euros in commission through his consulting company without claiming this profit for tax purposes.

  The public prosecutor's office at the Munich Higher Regional Court is currently investigating Nüßlein on suspicion of bribery and tax fraud.

• Nikolaus Löbel (CDU)

  : Löbel has admitted that his company has received around 250,000 euros in commission for arranging FFP2 mask orders.

  The public prosecutor's office checks whether there is sufficient initial suspicion to initiate investigative proceedings.

• Mark Hauptmann (CDU):

  Hauptmann is accused of two things: According to media reports, Hauptmann is said to have brokered mask deliveries from companies to districts, for which the district association Suhl (Thuringia) had received a donation of 7,000 euros.

  He is also accused of having special relations with the Azerbaijan government, which has been criticized for violating human rights.

  Among other things, the government is said to have placed advertisements in a newspaper published by Hauptmann, and there are also rumors of undeclared donation payments to his district association, which could also come from Azerbaijan.

  Hauptmann admits the party donations, but denies having personally enriched himself.

However, the list of Union politicians who have come under the crosshairs of criticism or who have already come into it is even longer:

The current chairman of the CDU, Armin Laschet, hit the headlines as early as 2020: his son Joe Laschet made contact with a textile company from which the state of North Rhine-Westphalia ordered fabric masks for 1.25 million euros.

Philipp Amthor (CDU) came under fire in June 2020 for campaigning for a US company for which he received stock options.

As a result, although he no longer ran for the state chairmanship in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, he was elected to number one on the state list for the federal election on September 26th with a large majority in March.

Mask affair at the CDU / CSU: These conclusions have already been drawn - what other consequences are in the room?

In the course of this corruption affair, the Union faction had taken an unusual step.

All MPs had to sign a "declaration of honor" in which they assure that they have not personally enriched themselves with mask deals in the corona pandemic.

The Ministry of Health now wants to go further: According to media reports, the Ministry wants to approach all MPs who "have communicated with the BMG in the context of actually concluded contracts on protective equipment", according to the dpa.

A project by Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) could fail due to data protection concerns of the federal administration: Spahn had planned to publish the names of all people who were involved in the mediation of mask shops.

Hauptmann, Nüßlein and Löbel have resigned their mandate and left the Union.

But that might not be enough to avert damage to the party: The state elections in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate already show that the so-called mask affair in the super election year 2021 can definitely affect the election results.

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