CDU-Leading Candidate - Alcohol traffic-committee should shed light on ministry affairs
The Left faction in the state parliament is demanding that the Interior Ministry disclose how they handled the alcohol driving incident involving the CDU's top candidate for the state election, Jan Redmann. Marlen Block, the interior and legal affairs spokesperson for the Left faction, said in Potsdam that there is a reasonable suspicion that processes were delayed by the Interior Ministry-led police to give Redmann a window of time for his "transparency campaign."
The interior and justice ministries are expected to take a stance in the committee meeting. Redmann himself will not be present. The CDU is also holding a separate meeting.
More than a week ago, according to Redmann's own account, he was stopped by police while riding an e-scooter to his home in Potsdam with a breath alcohol level of 1.3 promille. A blood alcohol level of 1.1 promille is a criminal offense. Redmann informed the media about the incident approximately twelve hours later and admitted his error.
The Brandenburg Police reportedly sent the electronic report on Redmann's alcohol driving control to internal recipients only one day later. This is a so-called WE-report, which stands for "significant event." Linke deputy Marlen Block criticized that such an electronic transmission, which would also inform the Chancellery, should have been sent 30 hours after the control.
"The principle of electronic transmission can be deviated from, for example, to ensure that the personal rights of those affected are not violated," the Brandenburg Police Press Office told the German Press Agency. Block stated: "We consider this an implausible argument." She referred to the serious traffic accident of Linke state parliamentarian Bettina Fortunato. In that case, the Chancellery was informed within an hour.
Brandenburg's Minister President Dietmar Woidke (SPD) only receives WE-reports from the Interior Ministry press office on his personal service account, not directly from the Brandenburg Police, according to the government spokesperson on the procedure.
In the committee meeting on Wednesday, the Left faction intends to demand clarification on the processes and to ask who was informed and when. Deputy Block also announced that she intends to examine other so-called WE-reports from the past years in the context of the access to files.
Brandenburg's Transport Minister Rainer Genilke (CDU) hopes that Redmann's nighttime alcohol driving incident will have a deterrent effect on potential traffic offenders. "That's the good thing about such examples. That he also told others: 'Don't do it! It doesn't work.'"
- The Special session in the State Parliament could be convened if the Interior Ministry fails to disclose the handling of Jan Redmann's alcohol driving incident.
- The Link fraction has raised concerns about a potential delay in the processing of Redmann's case by the police during his 'transparency campaign'.
- The CDU's Justice Ministry and Interior Ministry are expected to provide their stance on the matter during the committee meeting.
- Jan Redmann, the CDU's top candidate, will not be present during the committee meeting regarding his alcohol cruise incident.
- The Brandenburg Police reportedly sent the WE-report on Redmann's alcohol driving control to internal recipients a day later, which is criticized by Marlen Block as being inappropriate.
- The State Election in Brandenburg faces potential scrutiny due to the handling of Redmann's alcohol cruise incident, raising concerns for the CDU party.
- The Ministry of Justice and the Interior Ministry will have to address questions about the process and timeline of information dissemination during the committee meeting and future 'State Parliament' sessions.
