The CSU deputy Ernst Weidenbusch, who has been a member of the state parliament for almost 20 years, has recently made a name for himself. First he violently attacked his faction leader and asked him to withdraw: “With Thomas Kreuzer we will not win the election.” But the revolt went wrong, at least for the time being. Then Weidenbusch defended his presidency with difficulty in elections in the Bavarian Hunting Association; against a challenger who called for reforms and grass roots. And finally, the 58-year-old long-term MP from the Munich district announced that his mandate would expire. He will no longer stand in the autumn 2023 election.
But Weidenbusch, whose political motto is “Everything for Bavaria,” is not likely to calm down anytime soon. Because whether the latter is really the case, the current committee of inquiry in the state parliament will possibly deal with it. Because Weidenbusch is also very active as a lawyer. And the U-Committee not only takes care of the mask affairs of the CSU – but also about which members of parliament represent clients in part-time jobs, for example as lawyers, who in turn have something to do with the Free State. The traffic light opposition of the Greens, SPD and FDP want to investigate the suspicion of felt.
The findings of Green MPs Florian Siekmann and Tim Pargent provide a foretaste of what could be pending in the committee. They asked the Ministry of Finance about appointments with Weidenbusch and found what they were looking for. The ministry’s response lists various discussions with administrations for its clients. The Greens consider one point to be particularly relevant: the member of parliament and lawyer is a part-time syndic, i.e. permanent legal adviser, for the two Lotto-Toto associations in Bavaria. They take care of the interests of around 3,600 lottery and pools acceptance points, which sell state gambling offers and sell around one billion euros a year.
The associations have a lot to discuss with the ministry
That’s a lot of money. And there is also a lot to discuss for the two Lotto-Toto associations with the government and with the State Lottery and Casino Administration (SLSV), which is assigned to the Ministry of Finance. According to the ministry, Weidenbusch was present at talks with the “house management” of the finance and interior ministries about Bavarian lottery sales and “current issues in the gambling industry”. This also applies to the so-called “presidential talks” between the SLSV management and the two lottery and pool associations in Bavaria. At least that’s what the Ministry of Finance says in response to the Green Party’s request.
When gambling and the interests of the lottery and pools acceptance points in Bavaria were discussed at the highest level, their legal counsel Weidenbusch was also at the table. And what the lottery and football associations write about Weidenbusch on their website sounds like the best connections: “Since the organization and implementation of games of chance is designed as a state monopoly, it was and is obvious to work with a lawyer who understands the mechanisms of state administration and legislation.” This in turn leads to the question of whether Weidenbusch acted as a lobbyist for the association in the state government and lottery administration and whether his political influence as a CSU MP benefited the two lottery and pool associations.
That is by no means the case, Weidenbusch replies when asked by the SZ. What he is doing is “pure legal advice” and not lobbying. There was also no discussion with the top management of the Ministry of the Interior. In the Ministry of Finance it was just a conversation. It was about the legal admissibility of advertising measures. And he doesn’t even know what a “presidential talk” between the state lottery administration and the Lotto-Toto associations is. The CSU man describes the dates as politically completely harmless. For example, there were events in the Hofbräuhaus with a thousand people from the lottery and pool acceptance points throughout Bavaria, at which the finance minister gave a speech.
Florian Siekmann, Green Group Vice President and Deputy Chairman of the U-Committee, wants to “take a closer look”. Siekmann suspects that Weidenbusch’s roles as a member of parliament and as a lawyer could have “combined”. If the CSU man in the state parliament’s budget committee controls the finance ministry and at the same time talks to the ministry about the interests of the lottery associations, then that doesn’t go together.
According to his own statements, Weidenbusch receives 45,000 euros a year as the syndic of the lottery and football associations. That is more than what carers in geriatric care get according to the collective agreement. According to his own assessment, he is worth his money: “My clients appreciate my legal knowledge, my quick perception, my extraordinary negotiating skills and my solution-oriented professional creativity,” he said in 2021 at the debate on lawyers’ fees in connection with the Landesbank: I understand the work in the state parliament he as “service to Bavaria”. The approximately 100,000 euros that he receives a year for this are significantly less than he can earn as a lawyer. “I consciously accept that.”