Bundestag
Driving license threatens: SPD MP offers Amthor a ride – on one condition
Philipp Amthor threatens to lose his driver’s license for a month
© Jens Büttner / DPA
CDU politician Philipp Amthor will probably have to surrender his driver’s license. A colleague from the SPD has already offered to take him to Berlin from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in the future.
Philipp Amthor threatens his driving license: The CDU member of the Bundestag is said to have driven at around 120 kilometers per hour through a Tempo 70 zone last year. According to a ruling by the Pasewalk District Court, he should now surrender his driver’s license for one month and pay a fine of 450 euros. He will no longer be able to drive from his home in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to Berlin by car.
His colleague and constituency competitor Erik von Malottki came to his aid: the SPD politician offered Amthor a ride. “I’ll take you out of our constituency in my 2002 Honda Jazz, if that’s okay with you,” said von Malottki in a video on Twitter and Instagram in the direction of Amthor. However, the offer is only valid under one condition: “We are talking about how we can better connect our region by rail so that we can both travel by rail in the future.”
Philipp Amthor lost constituency to Erik von Malottki
Amthor and von Malottki both ran as direct candidates for the federal election in September in the constituency of Mecklenburgische Seenplatte I – Vorpommern-Greifswald II. The 35-year-old von Malottki prevailed with 24.8 percent of the first votes and thus entered the Bundestag for the first time. Amthor kept his mandate in Berlin because, as CDU state chairman in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, he got a place as a member of the state list on the state list. In the 2017 federal election, the Union politician had won the direct mandate in the constituency.
It is unclear whether Amthor and von Malottki will actually become the new Bundestag carpool. The CDU politician has not yet responded to the offer – at least not in public. In addition, Amthor is still checking whether he will file a legal complaint against the judgment. At first he did not want to accept the fine. According to the Pasewalk district court, Amthor’s lawyer had stated that the member of the Bundestag was not the driver at all. According to media reports, Amthor had been photographed by a speed camera and was clearly visible on the images.
No reaction from Amthor yet
Should the carpool really come into the capital, Erik von Malottki has already announced via Twitter that he will start the journey with a dashcam. He has not yet received any feedback from Amthor, but he expects to receive “a sign from him” soon, said von Malottki – and reiterated that he was serious about his offer: “We have to work together for better rail links for ours Region.”
Sources: Erik von Malottki on Twitter / Erik von Malottki on Instagram / AFP