The Union accuses Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt (Greens) of nepotism. The background is approved state funds for the sea rescue alliance “United4Rescue”. The budget committee decided to fund the major project with two million euros annually until 2026. Striking: The chairman of the association, Thies Gundlach, is the life partner of the Bundestag Vice President.
Göring-Eckardt made it clear to “Bild” that she was not directly involved in the decision. This is also confirmed by the budget spokesman for the Greens, Sven-Christian Kindler.
From the Union comes still strong criticism. “The fact that the partner of the Green Bundestag Vice-President is on the board of this association and that the association is generously funded by the Green-led Foreign Ministry has an extremely stale aftertaste,” says Wolfgang Stefinger (CSU), member of the Bundestag and deputy budget committee member Newspaper.
His Union colleague and member of the Bundestag Carsten Körber agrees and says to the “Bild”: “This means that the commitment of the traffic light coalition is clearly moving in the direction of nepotism”.
Göring-Eckardt justifies her support for the project with the “legal obligation not to let people drown,” she is quoted as saying by the “Bild” newspaper. “I am very happy that it was possible to support the life-saving work with a contribution from the federal budget,” she wrote on Twitter.
Göring-Eckardt has been committed to sea rescue for several years. Among other things, she supports the work of the association “Sea-Watch” with political demands and also that of the alliance “United4Rescue”, which now works together with “Sea-Watch”.
