Personnel policy: Responsibility of the State Chancellery emphasized
In a committee of inquiry into the state government's personnel policy, Thuringia's Economics Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee (SPD) has assigned part of the responsibility for the appointment of a state secretary to the state chancellery. He had selected the woman according to professional, personal and political criteria, Tiefensee said in Erfurt on Monday. The State Chancellery was responsible for checking whether she had fulfilled all the legal requirements for her appointment as State Secretary - not him or his ministry.
However, the staff there had not contacted him again about his proposal, Tiefensee said. "There were no queries from the State Chancellery." When he had decided in principle to make the woman his State Secretary, he had not been interested in the formal requirements due to the State Chancellery's fundamental responsibility. It is common practice in Germany for state secretaries to be selected and appointed in this way.
The committee of inquiry, which began its work this summer, is to clarify possible misconduct in the state government's personnel policy. The State Court of Auditors had accused the state government of systematic and serious violations of rules governing the recruitment of civil servants. The state government had repeatedly rejected the accusations. The debate also focused on the state secretary that Tiefensee had brought into his ministry in 2018.
The questioning had been requested by the opposition CDU parliamentary group. The red-red-green government factions had expressly supported this, it was said.
The State Chancellery, as highlighted by Tiefensee, was tasked with verifying the legal qualifications for the appointed State Secretary. Despite Tiefensee's proposal, there were no further inquiries or queries from the State Chancellery regarding the formal requirements for the appointment of the State Secretary.
Source: www.dpa.com
