Who's afraid of the big bad Wulff?

Former German President Christian Wulff eventually elected to fall on his sword and resign amid ongoing allegations of corruption, linked primarily to a private home loan the politician did not publicly declare. Yet Wulff's decision to pull the emergency parachute does not seem to have brought an end to the investigations into his past.

Social Democrats in the state of Lower Saxony on Tuesday submitted a constitutional complaint pertaining to the running of a celebrity conference conducted when President Christian Wulff was state premier of the region.

It has emerged that state funds were used to help fund the "North-South-Dialogue" event in 2010, and the SPD has filed a complaint against Wulff and his successor as state premier of Lower Saxony, David McAllister, saying they both withheld information on the matter when queried in the past. Article 24 of Lower Saxony's constitution stipulates that official questions from parliamentarians must be answered by the state completely, truthfully and without delay.

"From our point of view, the state government's assertion that it did not contribute either to the organization or funding of this event has been proven false," Social Democrat politician Heiner Bartling, himself a former state premier of Lower Saxony, said. Bartling first submitted a request to the state parliament asking for information on the event's funding in 2010. He said his complaint targets the state government more generally, rather than Wulff or McAllister personally.

The state government says it always answered the questions to the best of its knowledge, that it did not intentionally withhold any information.

Cookbooks and extra staff

The North-South-Dialogue brought politicians and celebrities together from the states of Lower Saxony (in the north) and Baden-Württemberg (in the south-west), it was organized by prominent German event manager Manfred Schmidt.

Amid investigations into Christian Wulff before his resignation, it emerged that the agriculture ministry in Lower Saxony had paid for cookbooks that were given out to guests at the summit, while the local medical school in Hanover had provided staff for the event. Investigations have already been launched by local prosecutors against Schmidt and Wulff's former spokesman Olaf Glaesecker on suspicion of corruption.

Wulff's successor in Lower Saxony David McAllister, a fellow member of Chancellor Merkel's Christian Democrats, on Tuesday welcomed the investigation, saying his administration was accepting it with as much composure as possible.

"We even welcome the fact that this step has been taken, because we may then achieve clarity over the outstanding individual points that are said to be unresolved," McAllister said.

The opposition Social Democrats said they expect a verdict on their complaint before state elections in 2013.

Wider lessons to learn

The German office of Transparency International on Tuesday called for an overhaul of laws governing political donations and codes of conduct for politicians.

Eda Müller, the leader of Transparency in Germany, said laws on bribing politicians should be strengthened, while direct donations to parliamentarians should be banned.

"Governments and political parties cannot allow their parties and conferences to be sponsored by business," Müller said, demanding that German politics launch an "integrity offensive" in a bid to win back public trust.

Among other measures, Müller argued that all direct political donations of over 2,000 euros (roughly $2,650) should be made public; German law currently stipulates that donations worth 10,000 euros or more must be declared.

msh/mz (AFP, dpa, Reuters)