allegations of abuse of power
Kubicki’s “flirt” with Koch-mehrin: Vice President of the Bundestag reacts to the network scolding
Wolfgang Kubicki and Silvana Koch- Mehrin in July 2005
© Horst Pfeiffer / DPA / Picture Alliance
Wolfang Kubicki has denied allegations that he abused his power in a meeting with former FDP politician Silvana Koch-Netzin 15 years ago.
Wolfgang Kubicki is used to being in the storm. After all, the FDP politician rarely minces his words. The Vice President of the Bundestag recently described Turkish President Erdogan as a “little sewer rat. His latest headwind comes from the Internet, because numerous users are busy discussing a sexism debate that Kubicki caused by his appearance in the ARD program “Maischberger” triggered on Wednesday. Here moderator Sandra Maischberger spoke to him about a meeting between Kubicki and former MEP Silvana Koch-Netzin, about which Kubicki gave information to “Zeit” in 2010. Now, when asked by RTL, the Vice President of the Bundestag comments on the allegations that he wanted to abuse his power at the meeting with Koch-Überin.
“Flirt” between Wolfang Kubicki and Silvana Koch-mehrin
It’s about a “flirt” (Kubicki) between the two a good 15 years ago in a Brussels café. Even today, Kubicki sees no problem in interpersonal flirting with party colleagues Silvana Koch Mehrin, he says when asked by RTL: “Of course, flirting in a party is still allowed, just as flirting in everyday work life can hardly be forbidden.” The 70-year-old “calmly” dismisses the “actual accusation,” as he puts it, that he “exploited a position of power against Ms. Koch-mehrin in a ‘job interview’.”
On Wednesday, the Vice President of the Bundestag presented his view of things about the meeting with Silvana Koch-mehrin at “Maischberger”. “I called her and said: ‘We have to talk about it, we need a general secretary of the FDP, how about you think about it?'” Kubicki said, “then she said: ‘Come on to Brussels, we’ll talk about it’.”
The FDP politician’s “flirt” triggers a discussion on Twitter
They drank coffee together, “then I flirted with her, and all of a sudden there was a guy standing next to me who was three times taller than me and twice as wide. And he also looked pretty fit. I thought so, it’s true maybe it’s better if you go,” Kubicki chatted further out of the box.
His behavior at the time and his current attitude towards “flirting” within party lines caused heated discussions on Twitter, among others. As a “shame” for the FDP, he is described there that he holds the office of Vice President in the Bundestag, does not belong to himself. “For me at work that would be a termination without notice,” says one user. His behavior was “disgusting” and “abusive” and his image of women remained in the 1950s.
Silvana Koch-Netzin had previously published a book in early October together with the earlier starreporter Uli Hauser reported on her experiences with sexual harassment from her FDP party colleagues. “It is wrong that I was silent”, she agreed star tv. The 51-year-old did not name names in it.
Also in the stern interview, Silvana Koch-Überin spoke about her experiences:
After Kubicki’s statements to “Maischberger” she had the following day in the “Current Hour” of the WDR says the “guy” was her husband, whom she asked “to drop by after about an hour because I figured there was more to it.” At the time, she felt “smart” and “strong” because of this idea, she would not have recognized a problem.
And that’s exactly the problem, says the 51-year-old today: “If my daughters told me today that they had such an appointment and would take such extravagant measures, I would be very shocked.”
“A flirt is always respectful”
Wolfgang Kubicki further classified the events on RTL request. He would have at the time as a “pariah” (roughly: underprivileged, “simple MP”, editor’s note) belongs to the party, would have been a member of the state parliament of Schleswig Holstein. “In contrast to me, Ms. Koch-mehrin was seen as a beacon of hope, she was vice-president of the European Parliament.” He had been asked by other politicians to get in touch with her to explore her interest in the post of FDP general secretary.
According to the party statutes, however, the right to propose this important party position lies with the chairman. The FDP politician also determined the meeting itself, place and time.
The 70-year-old clearly rejects the allegations made about his behavior on the Internet: “There is a crucial difference between assaults – this also includes the exploitation of positions of power – which definitely cannot be tolerated in a party, and flirting. A Flirt is always respectful because it’s two-way. Assault is disrespectful because it’s one-sided. You should always keep that distinction in mind.”
Silvana Koch-Überin did not comment further on the debate on Friday.
This article appeared first at RTL.de.