After the "best man affair", Christian Lindner is now also under criticism. A party colleague is to join the Commerzbank Supervisory Board.
Berlin – Since the beginning of May, Robert Habeck (Greens) has been criticized for possible nepotism around his state secretary Patrick Graichen. Now the FDP also seems to be in the line of fire. Christian Lindner's Ministry of Finance has proposed a close confidant for the Supervisory Board of Commerzbank. Lobby control associations consider the decision to be "highly problematic". The FDP counters.
Lindner and his ministry propose ex-FDP man of Commerzbank – after exit speculation
Harald Christ is the name of the man around whom the discussions revolve – a millionaire entrepreneur and treasurer of the FDP until April 2022. Lindner and Christ should know each other well. The finance minister has already had two exclusive speeches at Christian events, as the Tagesspiegel writes. At the end of May, Christ is now to join the supervisory board of Commerzbank, in which the federal government has a stake of over 15 percent. The entrepreneur was proposed by the Federal Government, Commerzbank announced.
Commerzbank and the Federal Government
With a 15.6 percent stake, the German government is Commerzbank's largest single shareholder. The investment is a remnant of the financial crisis of 2008/2009, when the German government, together with the European Commission, supported the bank with a financial injection of 8.2 billion euros.
As the largest single shareholder, the Federal Government has the option of proposing two members of the Supervisory Board. They must then be confirmed by the Annual General Meeting, but this is considered a formality. In recent years, membership proposals have mostly been accepted in full.
The personnel had already become known in November. At the time, Der Spiegel had reported on Lindner's planned realignment of Commerzbank. The news came as a surprise, because so far speculation has revolved more around the question of whether the federal government will exit Commerzbank. Christ's planned calling, at least, does not specifically indicate this.
FDP Ministry of Finance with party-friend proposal: Associations warn – "highly problematic"
Shortly before the confirmation of the new Supervisory Board members at the Annual General Meeting, associations criticize Lindner's approach. "We consider Christian Lindner's appointment of a close personal confidant without public office to the Board of Managing Directors of Commerzbank to be highly problematic" – especially since Lindner himself is an entrepreneur and lobbyist, Aurel Eschmann of the Lobbycontrol association, for example, told the Tagesspiegel. Eschmann also fears "immense conflicts of interest" on Christ's side. The entrepreneur could also use the contacts through the supervisory board for his own consulting firm.
The anti-corruption association Transparency International denounced that there should have been a "neutral, comprehensible selection process" for an important position on behalf of the state. Even if the federal government was officially allowed a free occupation, this could have avoided the "appearance of a conflict of interest".
Nepotism at the FDP: Ministry counters allegations
The Ministry of Finance emphasized that there is no provision for a special selection process at Commerzbank. Instead, it was important to "attract personalities with economic expertise from the private sector," it justified the personnel decision.
Whether the proposal to raise Christ to the 80,000-euro office, came directly from Christian Lindner, the Ministry of Finance did not reveal to the newspaper. It also remained unclear whether the two entrepreneurs were friends. However, Christ is not said to have been at last year's Lindner wedding.
Traffic light coalition: The Scholz cabinet at a glance
Traffic light coalition: The Scholz cabinet at a glance
The fact that Christian Lindner mixes private and business life had also been suspected in January 2023. At the beginning of the year, the finance minister was threatened with corruption investigations. The allegations revolved around a high personal loan at a bank where Lindner had given a greeting. However, the judicial authorities did not see this as an initial suspicion of criminal conduct. The audit process was closed at the end of January. At the beginning of May, Volker Wissing, FDP transport minister, was also confronted with accusations – Lindner reassured. (chd)
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