The FDP parliamentary group in the state parliament accuses Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) of handling tax money too carelessly. The criticism focuses on the personnel expenses of the State Chancellery, Söder’s office. According to the 2022 budget, these add up to a good 42.2 million euros. Overall, these expenses increased by 42 percent during Söder’s almost four-year term, according to Helmut Kaltenhauser, the budget spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group.
“Unrestrained,” he said on Wednesday and asked Söder for an explanation as to why the number of employees in the State Chancellery had risen from 410 to 576 since 2018.
The Ministry of Finance justified the increase in personnel and costs on Wednesday at SZ demand, among other things, with an additional burden due to the Corona crisis management, the interim presidency of Bavaria at the Prime Ministers’ Conference and the reestablishment of the Ministry of Europe based in the State Chancellery, which Melanie Huml (CSU) im January 2021 took over after Söder had dismissed her as Minister of Health. In the Corona crisis, a “strong state administration is a key success factor,” said the Ministry of Finance.