RBB affair
Resentment about possible compensation for Schlesinger
What’s next for RBB? photo
© Monika Skolimowska/dpa
RBB director Schlesinger resigned a few days ago. There are numerous allegations in the room. The issue of severance pay is now being discussed.
In the debate about terminating the contract for the resigned RBB director Patricia Schlesinger, state politicians are against severance pay for the 61-year-old.
The head of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB) had announced her withdrawal on Sunday in the face of numerous allegations. The Brandenburg SPD parliamentary group leader Daniel Keller said on Wednesday: “Should these breaches of duty, which are in the room, come true, the payment of a severance payment would be a fatal sign to the employees of the RBB and the public.”
Golden handshake is not conveyable
The board of directors must examine whether, on the basis of the allegations and the documents already available, it will pronounce a termination or a contract cancellation without payment of a severance payment. “Ms. Schlesinger should maintain her dignity and not demand any severance pay, and she must face the clarification and processing,” added the SPD politician. In addition, it must be checked whether there is a need for further replacements in the RBB top management.
The head of the co-governing CDU parliamentary group in the Brandenburg state parliament, Jan Redmann, made a similar statement. “In view of the accounts of private meals via the RBB, which have now been documented by witness statements, and undisputed violations of elementary compliance rules, the board of directors should consider dismissing Ms. Schlesinger without notice.” A golden handshake at the expense of the contributors does not seem plausible in this situation. “If a cashier is fired for a embezzled deposit receipt, that must certainly apply to a prominent public representative.”
Speculations about a possible severance payment for Schlesinger, who had been RBB director since 2016, arose because she insisted on contractual clauses in her letter of resignation to the RBB supervisory bodies and brought her lawyer into play. The employment relationship would therefore end at the end of February 2023, Schlesinger was ready to shorten it – if it was ensured that it was a “contractual waiver”. The Broadcasting Council plans to hold a special meeting on Tuesday to discuss the termination of the contract.
The public broadcaster wants to send a representative this time to another special session in the Brandenburg state parliament on the RBB affair, which is also scheduled to take place next Tuesday (August 16) – but it won’t be Schlesinger. Main Committee Chief Keller told the German Press Agency that Chief Executive Hagen Brandstätter, who has taken over the business since her resignation, will come on her behalf.
The incumbent RBB board chairwoman Dorette König, chairwoman of the broadcasting board Friederike von Kirchbach and head of the staff council Sabine Jauer have also confirmed. Brandenburg’s Secretary of State for Media, Benjamin Grimm (SPD), is also coming. The state currently has legal supervision of the RBB.
The prosecutor is investigating
At a first special meeting in mid-July, Schlesinger and the committee representatives did not appear – this caused great outrage across factions. The 61-year-old was increasingly criticized. An external investigation is currently underway at a law firm. Results are not yet available. Last Thursday she had already resigned as ARD boss.
The online medium “Business Insider” got the case rolling at the end of June. The question is whether Schlesinger and the station chief inspector Wolf-Dieter Wolf, who has since resigned, could have treated each other too laxly in the event of a possible conflict of interests. Both rejected allegations.
Consulting contracts for an RBB construction project that has now been put on hold and orders for Schlesinger’s husband at the state-owned Messe Berlin play a role. Wolf was also the head of the supervisory board there. He has now resigned from this post. The public prosecutor’s office is investigating all three because of the initial suspicion of infidelity and acceptance of advantages.
Dissatisfaction is also caused by the fact that Schlesinger, as RBB boss, received guests in her private apartment several times and billed the costs via the ARD broadcaster, which is financed by contributions. The billed costs are said to have been incorrect. The Berlin police chief, Barbara Slowik, for example, assumed, according to the police, that the meetings were of a private nature. The Charité also informed CEO Heyo K. Kroemer that, based on the type and content of the invitation and the course of the evening, it was a private appointment.
The RBB editors have been reporting intensively on the incidents in their own house for days. Editor-in-chief David Biesinger also said on RBB Inforadio on Wednesday that a research team had been commissioned to investigate the allegations. Five journalists from the house should therefore research independently in the editor-in-chief. It’s about the company car and the food in the private apartment.