The managing director of the municipal energy supplier in the Waldeck-Frankenberg district had traveled to the Ukraine at the invitation of Russia as an “election observer” for the mock referendums. The supervisory board has now released him from his duties – in order to “avoid damage to the company”.
The district administrator had called for it, and now it has been decided: The managing director of the North Hessian utility Energie Waldeck-Frankenberg (EWF), Stefan Schaller, will be released from his duties with immediate effect. This was announced by the supervisory boards and the EWF association board after a special meeting on Monday. The decision was therefore unanimous.
The reason for this is Schaller’s trip to Ukraine – at the invitation of Russia, he accompanied the Russian mock referendums there as an “election observer”.
“The behavior of the managing director clearly violates the world view, the moral values and the philosophy of the company, which resolutely rejects violations of international law and any form of violence,” emphasized the chairman of the supervisory board of the energy company and district administrator of the Waldeck-Frankenberg district, Jürgen van der Horst ( independent), according to a press release.
“Set a clear signal”
The exemption should “not only send a clear signal, but also avert damage to the company, which supplies around 90,000 households as a local energy supplier in Waldeck-Frankenberg,” the statement continues.
Schaller was relieved of his duties with immediate effect as a result of the immediate release. The future management of the energy supplier should be decided “perspectively”.
County asked for an exemption
After Schaller’s commitment became known through media reports on Saturday, the district reacted. The Council of Elders and District Committee had come together for an urgent special meeting.
“In today’s meeting, which was scheduled at very short notice, the vast majority of the committee members, with the exception of the AfD, spoke out in favor of the immediate release of the managing director,” said District Administrator van der Horst afterwards.
The municipal utility EWF employs around 380 people and, in addition to the energy supply, also operates local public transport and swimming pools.
The “Zweckverband Energie Waldeck-Frankenberg” holds the majority of the energy supplier with 51.8 percent, which in turn is an association of around 20 North Hessian municipalities. Most of the shares in the association belong to the district of Waldeck-Frankenberg (73.6 percent) and the city of Korbach (10.2 percent).
Schaller: “Purely private”
Opposite the newspaper HNA Schaller had confirmed his commitment as an election observer. “I wanted to get an idea of the situation on the spot. Also because I believe that objective information can never be wrong,” he said accordingly. His stay has nothing to do with his position as managing director of the Waldeck-Frankenberger energy supplier. “It’s purely private, I took vacation for it,” emphasized Schaller.
He admitted that he was aware of the danger of being exploited by the Russian side. However, he “always tries to find facts and not political assessments,” said Schaller of the HNA. But he knows “that I only see what I’m supposed to see”. It is clear to him that the result of the referendums will be determined by the Kremlin.
Mock referendums until Tuesday
With the vote, Russia wants to make Ukrainian regions part of the Russian Federation. The residents of the regions around Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia should cast their votes by Tuesday. They are asked whether their territories should be annexed to Russia. Due to reprisals, with a majority “Yes” expected.
A delegation of AfD politicians from Saxony-Anhalt and North Rhine-Westphalia also wanted to travel to the mock referendum. After severe criticism, including from within the party, they broke off the trip.
End of further information
hessenschau update – the newsletter for Hesse
end of form