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Green Chancellor candidate Baerbock
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Annalena Baerbock doesn't actually collect a salary for her job as party leader.
The rules of the Greens want it that way, after all, Baerbock is already receiving MPs' diets.
Nevertheless, proud sums of money have flowed from the party coffers into their account in recent years: a total of around 25,220 euros from 2018 to 2020.
These were special payments - at Christmas, because of Corona, for successful election campaigns.
The problem: The Bundestag member Baerbock should have reported this money to the Bundestag administration as ancillary income.
Now we know: she hasn't done that for a long time.
Clear violation of the rules
It is a clear rule violation by the Green Chancellor candidate that became known this Wednesday.
The "Bild" newspaper reported on it, a Green spokeswoman confirmed.
According to this, Baerbock did not report the additional income until March 2021, "after she and the party's federal office had noticed that this had inadvertently not happened," says the Greens headquarters.
Actually, MPs only have three months to report.
It is a delicate phase, back in the spring.
The Union is sinking into a swamp of mask affairs and corruption scandals.
The debate about stricter rules for parliamentarians is boiling up in the Bundestag.
Right in the middle of it all is the party that anyway likes to act as the top transparency watchdog: the Greens.
At the top of the eco-party, of all places, has they been messing around with money?
It's a dangerous mistake.
A mishap that could still weigh heavily on Baerbock and the Greens in this election campaign.
After all, it is about the credibility of the Greens, who have to be measured against their own political standards.
In any case, the news comes at an inopportune time for the eco party.
After her nomination, Baerbock started furiously as a candidate for chancellor.
The media response was largely positive; in the polls, the Greens passed the CDU and CSU.
Campaign cracks
But recently the first cracks appeared in the Greens election campaign: The party exclusion procedure against the long-time troublemaker Boris Palmer is likely to become a disruptive factor for months.
The grassroots Greens shower the top with thousands of amendments to the election manifesto.
Baerbock himself made his first mistakes and lack of concentration.
There were also violent, sometimes desolate and sometimes mendacious attacks against them on social networks.
The result: the upward trend in the surveys seems to be slowed down for the time being.
The candidate recently appeared unsettled.
In a TV duel with SPD opponent Olaf Scholz, Baerbock hardly managed to get on the offensive.
It would depend on that now.
Baerbock, who is so respected for her detailed knowledge, now has to carry the great Green story into the country.
It's about visions, about change - about the question of why the Greens should lead the next government.
The thing with the additional income forces the candidate instead into the defensive role.
Especially since the matter raises other questions.
The bonus system that is apparently common among the Greens alone is quite remarkable.
The party spokeswoman named the individual items to SPIEGEL:
In 2018, Baerbock received a Christmas bonus of 6,788.60 euros.
In 2019 there was 9295.97 euros - also at Christmas and as a reward for success in the European elections.
In 2020, € 7,635.71 went to Baerbock at Christmas and a “corona-related special payment” of € 1,500.
Success-based payments for the chairperson?
Corona money for politicians who are more than secure with their diets?
For comparison: According to information from the Konrad-Adenauer-Haus, there is nothing of the kind for the party leadership among the competition from the CDU.
Regarding the "corona-related special payments", the Greens spokeswoman explains that these were "in the same amount to all employees of the federal office and to the party executive committee", "because the year meant great efforts and special expenses for everyone".
At first only vague information
In turn, Baerbock initially only gave the sums vaguely, in accordance with the tier system for additional income applicable in the Bundestag.
Initially, the talk was of 17,500 to 37,000 euros that Baerbock should have received.
And this despite the fact that the Greens themselves are demanding a detailed display in euros and cents.
The Greens initially said that more transparency must apply to everyone.
Only on request did the party headquarters confirm the specific amount.
After all: Since Baerbock has reported the income unsolicited, the case for the Bundestag administration should be settled.
At least that's what the party assumes.
A response from the Bundestag Presidium to a SPIEGEL request is still pending.
In addition, there is no evidence of any further financial inaccuracies among the Greens. Apart from the special payments that have now been reported, Baerbock only received fees for her book, which will be published shortly, as ancillary income, the party said: in February and May each 12,322.50 euros. She generally doesn't accept any money for speeches and appearances.