Call for consequences

Edda Müller can be a real spoilsport. It's not that the chairman of Transparency International Germany (TI) doesn't like a good party – she has nothing against a rich country like Germany throwing itself occasional events like the summer gathering hosted by the German president. But events like this should be paid for with taxpayers' money, and not by big business. For the coalition against corruption, as TI calls itself, it's all about who pays the bills in the end.

Fellow board member Jochen Bäumel is even clearer. Politicians should not be seen as "supplicants" to business interests and be in a "weak position." Bäumel himself doesn't really think much of these types of political parties. He says most of these events, thrown by public-private partnerships, tend to attract few regular citizens and are instead dominated by journalists and government officials.

'Integrity initiative'

In the wake of the alleged corruption of former German President Christian Wulff, who resigned on Friday, TI says news rules and laws are needed governing political donations and codes of conduct for politicians.

In what it's dubbed an "integrity initiative," the non-governmental organization has called for a whole raft of measures. In terms of party sponsorship, TI says donations of more than 2,000 euros ($2,650) should be made public, not just donations upwards of 10,000 euros, as is the case now.

Furthermore, donations to members of the Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, should essentially be forbidden, and secondary jobs should be made public, according to TI. At the federal level, grants of 5,000 euros or more should be brought to the attention of the president of the Bundestag, and anything larger than 10,000 euros should be made public.

Bundestag members must already declare secondary incomes of more than 1,000 euros. But lawyers, of which there are many in the Bundestag, aren't always required to name their clients, a regulation TI finds outrageous.

'We must not accept any favors'

The wide-open field of lobbying gives Transparency International the most cause for concern, despite the fact that an openly available list of registered associations and their parliamentary representatives has been available since 1972.

TI says a mandatory code of conduct and clear rules are required to regulate the work of the lobbyists, in particular their influence in the legislature. To allow for more transparency and avoid any conflicts of interest, Müller says those persons involved with every law should be documented, and to what extent they were involved.

A stronger code of conduct is particularly necessary when it comes to invitations, gifts and trips, says TI. For instance, a current travel policy allows members of parliament to travel with Deutsche Bahn, Germany's national rail operator, free of charge.

"We must not accept any favors," said Bäumel, referring to the existing benefits, though he doesn't mind when politicians accept dinner invitations. "In that case, one can even be generous."

Political sponsoring

Even more problematic than donations is widespread sponsoring. On this topic, however, the government has been comparatively open with its information. Every two years, the government publishes a report that lists donors and recipients of political contributions and other monetary gifts.

The latest report, released by the Interior Ministry for the years 2009 and 2010, reveals a sum of 93 million euros, nearly two thirds of which went to the Health Ministry.

Unlike the government, individual political parties are not so transparent when it comes to sponsoring. Grants to this sector, like political donations, should also be made public, says TI. As it stands now, parties are able to disguise such income in their financial reports. On this topic, Bäumel feels as if his organization has been talking to a brick wall for years.

'Nose to the grindstone'

In the short-term, TI does not see any progress being made in its fight for more transparency. Edda Müller says they must always keep their nose to the grindstone if they want to bring about any real change.

But they have not let themselves become discouraged, and Müller hopes to win support from Germany's next designated president, Joachim Gauck. She thinks he will be able to win back the "trust that has been lost in politics and politicians."

However, she cautions that it would be "neither fair nor reasonable to project all their hopes on him." And, of course, any possible presidential comments on the topic of increased transparency must be followed by governmental action, in other words, new rules and laws. Transparency International can only provide the arguments and the impetus.

Author: Marcel Fürstenau / cmk
Editor: Andreas Illmer