- CDU wants to look into more files on Weil employee
Dispute over Salary Increase for Close Aide to Lower Saxony's Minister-President Stephan Weil Remains Tense
The lines are still drawn in the dispute over the salary increase for a close aide to Lower Saxony's Minister-President Stephan Weil. While the CDU wants to further examine the files, the SPD is pushing for a swift conclusion of the investigative committee in the state parliament.
"For Mr. Weil's tale that the individual solution for his personal aide was about a general increase in attractiveness, there is still not a single point of contact," said the parliamentary business manager of the CDU, Carina Hermann, after the first meeting of the committee after the summer break. Moreover, further answers from the state government are still pending.
CDU Threatens Hamburg with Lawsuit
Even a personnel file of the aide requested in Hamburg is not yet complete, Hermann criticized. If the Free and Hanseatic City continues to refuse to hand over the files, the investigative committee will sue Hamburg before the administrative court, the CDU politician announced. The Weil aide, whose pay is at issue, had worked for a Hamburg authority before her activity in the Lower Saxony state chancellery.
SPD: "Beaten Sour Cream"
The SPD, on the other hand, called for a timely conclusion of the investigative committee. "The matter has been on the table for months. It's time to realize that no scandal can be contrived here with the greatest effort. Beaten sour cream just gets wider, not stronger," said SPD business manager Wiard Siebels.
The coalition partner of the SPD expressed a similar opinion: Even the Greens called for a swift clarification on a conclusion. "When that succeeds depends above all on whether the CDU finds a face-saving exit for itself," said Green business manager Volker Bajus.
The CDU had requested the investigative committee because it considers it illegal that the Weil aide received a higher remuneration through a short-term change. It argues that the previous long-standing practice was changed for a single person. The state chancellery rejects the accusations.
The CDU continues to insist on a thorough examination of the files related to the salary increase for the aide, despite the SPD's push for a swift conclusion of the investigative committee in the state parliament. Furthermore, if Hamburg refuses to hand over the requested personnel file, the CDU has threatened to sue the city before the administrative court.
