More financial transparency in the lives of MPs in Germany : this is the meaning of a law which has just been adopted in the Bundestag. Nothing could be less obvious in this country where conservatives and liberals have been dragging their feet for a long time to avoid the implementation of transparency rules on the origin of their income.
It was without counting on the fierce struggle of several NGOs. Clara Helming, from the “Abgeordnetenwatch” association:“In terms of transparency rules for MPs, Germany has so far been poorly ranked in Europe. For example, the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption body has often criticized and berated Germany, and we have not been good students compared to other countries “.
A number of cases which have seen German MPs line their pockets by taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic accelerated the process.
Clara Helming pursuit:“In other European countries which have introduced stricter transparency rules, this has also often been a reaction to major scandals. This has been the case in the United Kingdom, for example, or in France. In France there is had a major scandal in 2013, the Cahuzac affair, and a supervisory body was immediately set up “.
In Germany, the problem also arose from the fact that the Speaker of the Parliament, guarantor of the integrity of the deputies, is himself also a deputy. And despite its very strong influence and political weight, it is not subject to any control. The current President of the Bundestag is Wolfgang Schaüble.
“There were rules until now, but they weren’t strong enough, and they just weren’t enforced. Most of the procedures were conducted internally within the Bundestag, the public did not have them known. And we fear the same will be true with new, stricter rules. “
During the tenure of the current President of the Bundestag, there has only been one case of penalties for misconduct.
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