Lawmakers convene to discuss legislative matters. - Weil employee subcommittee grills additional witnesses.
The investigation into a salary increase given to a close aide of Minister President Stephan Weil (SPD) will continue today as the parliament's lower house committee questions more witnesses. This includes an office manager from the state chancellery and a department head.
The issue at hand is whether the increase in pay for Weil's aide was appropriate. The opposition CDU has labelled the situation a "salary scandal" because they claim that existing administrative regulations were altered specifically for this individual. The State Chancellery, however, has dismissed this claim and declared that the higher payment was legal. The CDU has called for the dismissal of State Chancellor Jörg Mielke.
In relation to the increased salary of Weil's aide, there is currently an ongoing investigation by the public prosecutor's office in Hanover due to suspicions of embezzlement. So far, an investigation has been launched against unnamed individuals.
