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German mask profiteering scandal rocks Merkel's party as elections loom
Also: German lawmaker resigns over face mask scandal (Deutsche Welle)
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Source: Washington Post
German mask profiteering scandal rocks Merkel’s party as elections loom
By Loveday Morris
March 8, 2021 at 8:28 a.m. EST
BERLIN — Two lawmakers from German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition have signaled their resignations in a scandal over pandemic profiteering, the latest blow to her party in a major election year as a once-lauded coronavirus response faces increasing criticism.
Nicholas Löbel, a parliamentarian with Merkel’s Christian Democrats, said he would resign with immediate effect Monday after German media reported that his company had earned $297,000 in commissions for mask contracts.
As the furor grew over the weekend, he initially said that he would not stand for reelection in the September elections, admitting that he had made a “mistake” in the way he had handled the commissions.
Georg Nüsslein, a parliamentarian with the Christian Democrats’ sister party, has said he will not run for reelection as he is investigated over allegations that he received $712,000 in lobbying fees from a mask supplier. He hasresisted calls — including from the head of his own party — for his immediate resignation.
The timing for Merkel’s party, struggling to chart a new chapter as more than 15 years of her leadership comes to an end, is dire. It is at the beginning of what has been dubbed as a “super election year” in Germany, with the first two state level elections in the lead-up to September’s parliamentary vote taking place this weekend.
-snip-
By Loveday Morris
March 8, 2021 at 8:28 a.m. EST
BERLIN — Two lawmakers from German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition have signaled their resignations in a scandal over pandemic profiteering, the latest blow to her party in a major election year as a once-lauded coronavirus response faces increasing criticism.
Nicholas Löbel, a parliamentarian with Merkel’s Christian Democrats, said he would resign with immediate effect Monday after German media reported that his company had earned $297,000 in commissions for mask contracts.
As the furor grew over the weekend, he initially said that he would not stand for reelection in the September elections, admitting that he had made a “mistake” in the way he had handled the commissions.
Georg Nüsslein, a parliamentarian with the Christian Democrats’ sister party, has said he will not run for reelection as he is investigated over allegations that he received $712,000 in lobbying fees from a mask supplier. He hasresisted calls — including from the head of his own party — for his immediate resignation.
The timing for Merkel’s party, struggling to chart a new chapter as more than 15 years of her leadership comes to an end, is dire. It is at the beginning of what has been dubbed as a “super election year” in Germany, with the first two state level elections in the lead-up to September’s parliamentary vote taking place this weekend.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/germany-mask-scandal-cdu/2021/03/08/466cc158-8002-11eb-be22-32d331d87530_story.html
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Source: Deutsche Welle
German lawmaker resigns over face mask scandal
Nikolas Löbel is bowing to pressure following revelations that his company earned hundreds of thousands of euros on deals to procure masks during the coronavirus pandemic.
Date 08.03.2021
Author Nik Martin
A lawmaker from German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) stepped down on Monday over a government deal to procure face masks.
Nikolas Löbel announced that he would resign from his parliamentary mandate with immediate effect and would not run for the Bundestag again.
"In order to avoid further damage to my party, I am resigning my Bundestag mandate with immediate effect," Löbel said.
-snip-
Profiting from mask procurement
Löbel's company earned commissions of about €250,000 ($300,000) for brokering sales contracts for masks between a supplier in his state of Baden-Württemberg and two private companies in the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg.
-snip-
Nikolas Löbel is bowing to pressure following revelations that his company earned hundreds of thousands of euros on deals to procure masks during the coronavirus pandemic.
Date 08.03.2021
Author Nik Martin
A lawmaker from German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) stepped down on Monday over a government deal to procure face masks.
Nikolas Löbel announced that he would resign from his parliamentary mandate with immediate effect and would not run for the Bundestag again.
"In order to avoid further damage to my party, I am resigning my Bundestag mandate with immediate effect," Löbel said.
-snip-
Profiting from mask procurement
Löbel's company earned commissions of about €250,000 ($300,000) for brokering sales contracts for masks between a supplier in his state of Baden-Württemberg and two private companies in the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.dw.com/en/german-lawmaker-resigns-over-face-mask-scandal/a-56798497