- Lobby ranking: these states perform worst
Anti-corruption organization Transparency International Germany sees only limited progress in most federal states regarding regulations on disclosing lobbyist influence. In a "Lobby Ranking" presented on Tuesday, 12 out of the 16 federal states showed slight improvement compared to the last evaluation in 2022. However, 13 states fail to meet even half of the possible criteria. The federal government remains the top performer.
The organization created the first Lobby Ranking in 2021, with an update following a year later. It compares the transparency and integrity rules of the federal government and the federal states regarding four criteria: the existence of a lobby register, transparency obligations, cooling-off periods for former politicians entering the private sector, and the legislative footprint, which covers all lobby contacts of a politician during the legislative process.
The federal government continues to lead with a score of 71%, thanks to its now relatively good lobby and transparency rules. Among the federal states, Thuringia remains at the top with 69%, followed by Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg with 54% and 53% respectively. These states could have further distanced themselves from the middle of the pack with new cooling-off period regulations, according to the report.
At the bottom of the ranking are Rhineland-Palatinate and Lower Saxony with 19% each, Saxony-Anhalt with 18%, and Bremen with 9%. The lack of activity in these states is concerning, with insufficient political will to implement modern rules for clean politics, says Norman Loeckel of Transparency. This is evident in the fact that 13 out of the 16 federal states fail to meet even half of the Lobby Ranking criteria.
Loeckel emphasizes: "A significant number of federal states thus offer insufficient traceability of political decisions for citizens and too many opportunities for potential illegitimate lobby influence."
The "Lobby Ranking" presented by Transparency International Germany showed a slight improvement in 12 federal states since their last evaluation in 2022, but 13 states still fall short of meeting half of the possible criteria. Despite this, Thuringia continues to rank high, achieving 69% in the "Lobby Ranking" alongside Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
