On Friday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier criticized the deputies who were arrested with “the gags scandal,” describing their behavior as “bad and shameful.”
At a conference hosted by the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” newspaper, Steinmeier, a member of the Social Democrats, admitted, in a rare interference in domestic politics, that Germans were tired of living under lockdown.
He added, “After that, we hear that MPs, among all people, benefit from masks that must reach people to protect them .. This is a shame.”
It is noteworthy that the German Public Prosecutor’s Office has opened a preliminary investigation against a politician accused of receiving huge commissions to mediate companies in contracts selling masks. The scandal erupted as the country prepares to contest legislative elections in the fall.
The scandal caused an uproar ahead of the regional elections in the states of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate scheduled for next Sunday, amid fears within the Christian Alliance, the largest party in the grand government coalition, that this scandal would undermine its chances of winning in the two states’ elections, and then in the planned general elections. Next September.
It should be noted that the ruling Christian coalition includes the Christian Democrats, to which Chancellor Angela Merkel belongs, and the Bavarian Party.
Source: “Reuters” + “AFP”