A senior member of the “Christian Social Union” party in the German state of Bavaria left the party today, Sunday, to become the latest politician to fall in a commission scandal linked to contracts to buy masks to prevent the Corona virus.
Prosecutors are investigating Alfred Sauter, a member of the wealthy state’s parliament, over allegations that he took bribes in exchange for helping to arrange contracts for masks to prevent the Corona virus.
At a press conference on Sunday, Markus Söder, Bavarian Prime Minister and leader of the Christian Social Union and the leading conservative candidate to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel as chancellor, said: “We are in a bump on the road … The credibility of our party is in danger.”
In addition to being a member of the state parliament for the Christian Social Union, Sauter was a member of the party leadership and head of the party body for his constituency.
For 25 years, the man was an influential figure in the party allied for decades with Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union.
Sauter was previously Minister of Justice in the government of Bavaria.
Source: “Reuters”