German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and various ministers are facing fierce backlash after it was revealed that they spent enormous amounts to travel to the European Football Championships, courtesy of the German taxpayer. Germany’s Left Party has also gone on the offensive, noting that Scholz’s wife, SPD politician Britta Ernst, also flew with them and sat in the VIP section, which was allegedly against regulations.
Top ministers were often seen in the stands during matches, including Scholz, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who are all SPD politicians, along with Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, of the Greens. Nearly all of them were present when Germany’s national team lost to Spain in the quarter-finals of the European Football Championships in Stuttgart.
However, a range of cabinet members were seen at various games involving the German team, including in Munich, Frankfurt, and Dortmund.
The total cost for flights to the games hit €531,008.86, which was released after a Left Party politician Sören Pellmann request the data from the government. The costs also include a flight taken by Baerbock, of the Greens, who flew to Luxembourg on official government business after a game despite a ban on night flights. This amounted to a short-haul flight, which the government is looking to ban, and was followed by subsequent short-haul flights from Baerbock.
The Left Party is slamming the government, noting that they are using the German air force to shuttle top politicians to sporting and entertainment events.
“Anyone who causes costs of over half a million euros for six alleged business trips is either completely irresponsible or completely out of touch,” says Pellmann. He added that the air force should “not be the alternative travel option for an evening entertainment program of the federal government… but the air force is probably the more pleasant means of travel for the ministers and the chancellor because of the rail cuts.”
The German government has been under notable pressure over its decision to cut the country’s rail budget despite facing severe problems. There have been nearly endless stories regarding how the country’s rail system has seen a record number of delays, with every second train now late.
Corruption from Scholz?
The cost of the airline tickets is not the only element of the scandal, with Scholz’s wife, Britta Ernst, also accompanying her husband to three different matches. The question now is whether she was entitled to the “honorary tickets” which ministers receive but which are only reserved for representatives of constitutional bodies.
Ernst does not belong to any of those constitutional bodies, even if her husband is the chancellor. Since Germany was the host country, the UEFA issued the honorary tickets to German government VIPs. They are free and cannot be purchased by members of the public, and only 30 were available per game.
German newspaper Welt writes that the regulations state that these special tickets are “exclusively personal and not transferable, not even spontaneously,” according to an internal letter from government director Guido Large to the chairman of the Bundestag’s Sports Committee, Frank Ullrich (SPD).
“In it, Large, who works for the Bundestag administration, explains the exact rules for how a stadium visit for members of the Bundestag works. The letter states quite explicitly: ‘Personal or official accompaniment is not possible,’” writes Welt.
In other words, Ernst had no right to attend the games with Scholz using those honorary tickets improperly, according to Large.
When Welt questioned the federal government about why Ernst received the ticket, the response from the government, according to Welt, was “surprising”:
“The highest representatives of the five federal constitutional bodies – including the Federal Chancellor – are permitted to be accompanied by another person, such as their spouse, at other events, in line with state practice,” said a spokeswoman for the federal government.
However, this directly contradicts what Large said about the tickets, which expressly forbids any “personal” accompaniment. Welt pressed the government numerous times, asking them to point to any written text that might support their claim, but the government has not produced any documentation in support of their claim.
Now, there are calls for Ernst to pay back taxpayers, with the Left Party stating that Scholz’s wife would have to pay back the tickets for the games and the multiple use of the flight service out of her own pocket.
“While real fans had to dig deep into their pockets, the chancellor’s wife sat in premium seats several times — and for free or at the public’s expense,” said First Parliamentary Secretary Christian Görke.