Munich-CSU affair

The Munich CSU affair was a political affair that started in early 2003 from the Munich District Association of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU), and the political effects of which lasted in Bavaria until spring 2007.

A group of young CSU members who were friendly functionaries of the Junge Union influenced internal party elections of the Munich CSU from 2001 onwards. The aim was to get to party posts and political offices. The Münchner Merkur and the Süddeutsche Zeitung uncovered “member smuggling” from autumn 2002 and “member and vote buying” in the Munich CSU from spring 2003. As a result of investigations by public prosecutors and a local court procedure for forging documents against some young politicians, the newly elected CSU district chairwoman Monika Hohlmeier came under increasing pressure in June 2003 . In June 2004, three defendants were sentenced to heavy fines. After one of the accused claimed in the Süddeutsche Zeitung in July 2004 that the Bavarian Minister of Education and Culture knew about the election manipulation and had approved it, Monika Hohlmeier announced her resignation from the Munich district chairmanship.

This process was accelerated when it became known that she was threatening party friends with secret dossiers . From December 2004 to February 2007, an investigative committee of the Bavarian State Parliament dealt with the case. The statements of a senior public prosecutor and one of the convicted young politicians, who confirmed Monika Hohlmeier's knowledge and involvement in the affair, led to her resignation from the office of Bavarian Minister of Education in mid-April 2005 and her resignation from the Munich CSU district association in early August 2005. From autumn 2005 the investigative committee turned to further allegations: nepotism , the employment of state officials for party purposes and the waste of funds within the framework of the so-called "World Cup Task Force". In February 2007, the committee of inquiry presented a controversially discussed final report to the Bavarian state parliament.

procedure

The development of the “Munich CSU affair” from spring 2003 to spring 2007 is reproduced below. This political affair got its name from the press, especially the Süddeutsche Zeitung . It was abbreviated as the "CSU affair" and more rarely as the "election fraud affair". In its later phase, the term " Hohlmeier affair" appeared occasionally . Since the term "election fraud affair" is too ambiguous, "CSU affair" is too unspecific and "Hohlmeier affair" only affects one aspect, the term "Munich CSU affair" is used here. The so-called " Dossier Affair" formed part of these complex processes in July 2004 (see chapter: From the "Baretti & Co. case" to the "Hohlmeier case"). For a comprehensive understanding of the following presentation, knowledge of the “structure and situation of the Munich CSU” is essential (see the corresponding chapter).

Prologue: A party election evening with consequences

On Wednesday evening, February 5, 2003 , a momentous election meeting of the local CSU took place in the traditional restaurant " Leiberheim " in Munich - Waldperlach , a former rest home of the Royal Bavarian Life Guard . The Bavarian state parliament member Heinrich Traublinger had recaptured the local chairmanship of the CSU in the Munich district of Perlach . Stephanie Joch (née Lütge) (born May 6, 1978 in Braunschweig ) was elected as his deputy. In addition, the assembly had also determined those delegates who were to elect the new boss in District Association 9 (East) on May 22, 2003.

Two years earlier, young CSU functionaries had ousted Traublinger from his long-term office as Perlach local association chief. The background to this was the internal party struggle for the state parliament mandate . In the spring of 2001 Matthias Pawlik (* 1976) first became the local chairman, but soon handed the business over to the police officer and later CSU city councilor Johann Altmann (* 1955). However, the CSU chairman Edmund Stoiber and the designated Munich CSU district chief Monika Hohlmeier disliked this Perlach “ putsch ”, because master baker Traublinger was considered an important political representative of the trade. In the period that followed, the young CSU members, who were scolded as "clone warriors" in party jargon, fell out. The political scientist and former Bavarian RCDS state chairman Markus Blume (born February 14, 1975 in Munich) fell out with his ex-friends Rasso Graber , Christian Baretti and Joachim Haedke and ran against Heinrich Traublinger . After a vigorous three-hour debate, Traublinger was elected with 72 against 55 votes. Blume had failed and his opponents even withdrew his deputy chairmanship from him.

Baretti, chairman of the neighboring Trudering local association and CSU city council, had surprisingly submitted 35 applications for membership from new members who were eligible to vote, who had not gone through the normal party path but had been notarized months beforehand. In the hustle and bustle after Traublinger's election, he secretly pocketed the applications. The membership applications from at least 22 new members, who had ensured a majority in Traublinger on the evening of the election, along with 13 other applications, disappeared for three weeks. Then they were surprisingly delivered by Stephanie Lütge to the Munich CSU district association. The sender was Baretti, who had hidden the applications in his cupboard. Blume now accused Baretti of having manipulated the applications for admission in the meantime by deleting false names. Above all, however, the notarial seal was now missing . Blume accused Baretti, who had supported Traublinger, of manipulating the election. The vote was “on the verge of bending the law”, so Blume announced that he “would definitely challenge the election”.

On February 28, 2003, the CSU district committee for the east of Munich (District Association Munich 9) under its chairman Hans Podiuk dealt with these processes. The prosecution also began investigating. Podiuk already suspected that it was about more than just the Perlach local chairmanship.

His suspicions were confirmed. On May 22, 2003, Hans Podiuk was overthrown as CSU district chairman in the south-east of Munich in a voting vote. His successor was Christian Baretti, who had only registered his candidacy three days earlier.

The Bavarian Minister of Culture Monika hollow Meier reached on 27 June 2003, 96 percent of delegate votes at her election as the new district chairman of the Munich CSU. She took over the office from CSU member of the Bundestag Johannes Singhammer , who was no longer running for the regular election. With their election the hope was linked that calm would return to the scandalous district association.

Careless emails

On July 22, 2003, the online edition of the Süddeutsche Zeitung quoted e-mails that charged the Munich JU boss Rasso Graber, Christian Baretti and the CSU state parliament member Joachim Haedke because they promised new CSU members bonuses of up to 450 euros. In return, they should vote in party elections on behalf of their generous recruiters. The emails also revealed that applications for membership had been backdated so that the new paid member should be eligible to vote in elections. According to information from the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the group around Baretti and Graber had spent a five-figure sum on this action. The MP Joachim Haedke had always given the money to the JU functionary Maximilian Junker in cash. Haedke rejected the allegations at the request of the Süddeutsche Zeitung as "made up nonsense".

After these press disclosures, Monika Hohlmeier announced on July 23, 2003 that the allegations would be fully investigated and, on July 28, 2003, instructed the lawyer and ex-functionary of the Junge Union, Prof. Hermann Mayer, to investigate the affair to identify purchased members.

Raids and dormant offices

The 22-year-old Maximilian Junker, former local chairman of the JU Hohenbrunn, reported to the Munich public prosecutor's office on August 20, 2003 that the e-mails printed a month earlier by the Süddeutsche Zeitung about the purchase of CSU members were genuine. On August 21, 2003, a public prosecutor and two police officers confiscated numerous documents and a laptop in the course of a house search at Rasso Graber . The officers searched a total of four properties, including the homes of two other suspects. Rasso Graber was accused of forging documents in the Perlach CSU affair .

On August 25, 2003, Otmar Bernhard , deputy chairman of the Munich CSU and the CSU parliamentary group, called on Rasso Graber to suspend his post as head of the Munich Young Union. A week earlier there had been an open dispute between Monika Hohlmeier and Rasso Graber. The new CSU district chairman had asked him in the office of lawyer Prof. Hermann Mayer in the posh “CityQuartier Fünf Höfe” if he wanted to let his office rest. Graber firmly denied this. Only after the chairman of the CSU state parliamentary group Alois Glück asked him to resign temporarily on August 23, 2003 and Monika Hohlmeier threatened him on August 28, 2003 ultimately to remove him from all party offices for the duration of his proceedings, did Rasso Graber bow on August 29 August 2003 the pressure of the CSU top and resigns his Munich JU chairmanship for the time being.

Only a week later, on September 5, 2003, there was a raid on CSU city councilor Christian Baretti. His parents were at this time on suspicion of bribery in custody . As employees of the AOK health clinic between July 1998 and February 2003, you are said to have accepted around 260,000 euros in bribes . The public prosecutor's office accused Christian Baretti of having actively helped to book these bribes and forward them to other accounts. In addition, he was meanwhile one of the main suspects in the CSU affair of falsified applications for membership.

The process

In December 2003 the public prosecutor's office in Munich I applied for penal orders against the five accused in the election fraud affair for suppressing and forging documents : Christian Baretti, Rasso Graber, Stephanie Lütge, Maximilian Junker and Oliver Melka. On January 14, 2004, the judge at the Munich District Court, Petra Axhausen, refused to issue these penalty orders.

This temporarily favorable development was of no use to Christian Baretti. After the Munich public prosecutor's office had brought charges against him on February 27, 2004 in the health clinic affair of aiding and abetting bribery , he was expelled from the parliamentary group on March 8, 2004 by the Munich City Hall CSU. He had previously been asked to leave the CSU parliamentary group voluntarily. However, he refused to do so. On April 26, 2005, Baretti came before the party expulsion proceedings initiated against him by leaving the CSU. However, he kept his town hall mandate as a non-party and non-attached member of the city council.

On April 30, 2004, the trial started at the Munich District Court. Christian Baretti and Rasso Graber were charged with joint forgery and document suppression. The public prosecutor accused the two CSU politicians and three co-defendants of forging applications for party membership, voting for doubles for members, having the forgeries certified by a notary and later destroying the notarial seal. The prosecutors wanted to prove that the five defendants wanted to create a majority with the help of false and bought members in the CSU local association Perlach, which would elect the state parliament member Heinrich Traublinger as local chairman and the co-defendant Stephanie Lütge as his deputy. One of the goals was to pave the way for the Junge Union boss Graber to succeed Traublinger in the state parliament.

On May 28, 2004, the district judge Petra Axhausen pronounced the first two judgments . Because of the manipulation of four membership applications each, Maximilian Junker was sentenced to 90 daily rates and Oliver Melka to 60 sentences (both at 20 euros). The judge remained well below the sentence that the public prosecutor had demanded, because she took her confession as credit to the accused. In addition, the two insurance salesmen had been terminated because of the affair, with which they "significantly harmed themselves".

Judge Axhausen announced the other judgments on June 29, 2004, which were less lenient. The Munich District Court saw it as proven that Christian Baretti, Rasso Graber and Stephanie Lütge had withheld applications for membership in the CSU and covered counterfeits by others. The public prosecutor's original accusation no longer had anything in common with this conviction. Baretti was sentenced to 160 daily rates of 30 euros, Graber to 170 daily rates of 30 euros and Lütge to 120 daily rates of 20 euros. The CSU member of the state parliament, Joachim Haedke, initially got away with a reprimand for the recruitment practice, which he supported with considerable funds: "You have violated the basic rules of democracy," said the magistrate. Since he was considered to be the mastermind behind the manipulation, he resigned from his party positions on the same day. In their plea , the public prosecutor had originally requested higher fines , spoke of “mafia-like structures in the Munich CSU” and “behavior that is otherwise only known in the area of organized crime”. The defense attorneys for the three defendants had called for acquittals . After the verdict, the three young politicians announced that they would appeal . On July 5, 2004, Rasso Graber resigned from the CSU.

From the "Baretti & Co. case" to the "Hohlmeier case"

On July 16, 2004, Rasso Graber claimed in the Süddeutsche Zeitung that on May 15, 2003, a meeting between Monika Hohlmeier, Christian Baretti (then CSU city councilor) and himself (then Munich's Junge Union boss) had taken place in the office of the Minister of Culture. Hohlmeier was already the designated new head of the Munich CSU. Monika Hohlmeier asked her “whether we would like to get rid of Podiuk” and “whether we have the necessary majority”. When they had assured that the majority of the delegates were behind them, Monika Hohlmeier replied: "Then do it."

At a six-hour crisis meeting of the Munich CSU district executive on the Nockherberg on July 19, 2004, party penalties were pronounced against those involved in the election fraud affair. The board approved the proposal by party attorney Hermann Mayer, Joachim Haedke, the former head of the Münchner Junge Union, to denounce him from office for five years. In contrast to the Christian Barettis and Stephanie Lütges cases, no party expulsion proceedings were applied for, because Haedke had "not been guilty of any criminal offenses," said Monika Hohlmeier, justifying the mild fine.

After the revelations in the Süddeutsche Zeitung on July 16, 2004, the pressure on Monika Hohlmeier grew. On July 20, 2004, she announced that she would resign from the office of district chairman of the Munich CSU at the end of September. The reason she named the double burden as minister and CSU district chief. However, leading Munich CSU politicians are said to have withdrawn from party office on July 17, 2004 at a crisis meeting with General Secretary Dr. Markus Söder have agreed. The day before, a crisis meeting on July 16, 2004 broke out. Participants at this meeting had reported to the Süddeutsche Zeitung that Monika Hohlmeier had threatened her internal party opponents to use dossiers about her. On July 21, 2004, CSU boss Edmund Stoiber tried personally to limit the damage and declared the "Causa Hohlmeier" to be over. However, the expected backing was very cautious.

Journalists who waited in front of the CSU parliamentary group in the state parliament on July 21, 2004 to ask the Bavarian Minister of Education what the scandal was all about, she replied: “It's all nonsense” and asserted “there is no dossier. I've never threatened anyone in my life. "This led to an unexpected escalation , because the CSU member of the state parliament, Ludwig Spaenle, accused her of lying on July 23, 2004:" If she says that she has not blackmailed anyone or created a dossier, she says falsehood ”. During the turbulent meeting on July 16, 2004, Monika Hohlmeier had vaguely indicated that Ludwig Spaenle's wife Miriam, who is the chairwoman of the CSU Women's Union in his district , had cheated in elections.

On July 22nd, 2004 there was a novelty in the Munich CSU. The state parliament member Joachim Haedke, who was deeply involved in the affair of membership purchase and election fraud, initiated a party expulsion process against himself . He hoped that “a party court that could not be influenced” would correct the “caricature of my person”, said Haedke, explaining his escape to the front. The party leader, Hohlmeier, who was still in office until September, advised her district executive at the next crisis meeting to apply to the district arbitration court to expel Joachim Haedke.

In the meantime, however, events had rolled over. On July 23, 2004, Monika Hohlmeier announced that she was leaving her position at the head of the Munich CSU with immediate effect. On the same day, the board of the city party unanimously nominated the CSU state parliament member Otmar Bernhard as his successor. In the meantime, the unanimous decision to initiate a party expulsion procedure against the state parliament member Joachim Haedke took a back seat.

On July 24, 2004, Monika Hohlmeier apologized for her behavior towards CSU party friends. She regretted that her “behavior in this way was misleading and felt as hurtful by those involved. I apologize for this and assure you that I did not want to attack anyone personally. ”Your critics, such as the CSU state parliament member Zimmermann , accepted the“ honorable declaration ”. At least two cabinet colleagues had previously addressed a possible resignation. Only two days later, on July 26, 2004, it became known that the apology of the minister of education had come about under massive pressure from Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber. In addition, the Chief Public Prosecutor Christian Schmidt-Sommerfeld confirmed on the same day that the Munich public prosecutor was examining whether the Minister of Education was being investigated for attempted coercion .

Amalgamation of office, party work and family?

On July 29, 2004, the parliamentary groups of the SPD and the Greens sent an extensive catalog of questions to the Bavarian state government . Among other things, it was about the amalgamation of state tasks and CSU party work by the personal advisor to the minister of education, Maximilian Pangerl, by the press spokeswoman for the minister of education, Claudia Piatzer, and the promotion practice of the ministry of education. The former deputy press spokesman in the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, Peter Brendel, was promoted to director of the Pfarrkirchen grammar school at the beginning of July 2004, although according to a report by Münchner Merkur on July 24, 2004, several competitors with equally good assessments and more practical experience had applied and later against the appointment Peter Brendels complained. The opposition parties set a deadline of August 9, 2004 for answering the questions and stated that an investigative committee in the Bavarian state parliament would be inevitable if the allegations that had emerged were not fully and comprehensibly clarified.

On August 6, 2004, Münchner Merkur raised new allegations against Monika Hohlmeier. Her ministry is said to have financed the expansion of the visually impaired center in Unterschleißheim for around 8.5 million euros, while her husband, Michael Hohlmeier, had previously been appointed vice director there. Other Bavarian school buildings fell victim to the austerity program at the same time. The minister of education had this accusation rejected by her ministry spokesman, Thomas Höhenleitner, on the same day. The "commitment for the extension building" "already existed before Michael Hohlmeier moved to the facility."

On August 10, 2004, Monika Hohlmeier, accompanied by a four-person delegation of senior officials from her ministry, read out a 15-page declaration on the request of the parliamentary groups of the SPD and the Greens. Her only concession to allegations of the state parliament opposition was that she wanted to be more “sensitive” to secondary activities of her officials. She is neither afraid of a committee of inquiry nor is she thinking of resigning, after all Edmund Stoiber has again expressed his confidence in her. When asked about this, she replied that the “topic of the district board” was “closed”. The SPD and the Greens demanded a committee of inquiry in the event that Edmund Stoiber continued to cling to Monika Hohlmeier. The State Chancellery rejected the “ ultimatum ”.

The CSU chairman Edmund Stoiber and general secretary Markus Söder forced on August 16, 2004 at a crisis meeting at the CSU headquarters at Nymphenburger Strasse 64 that the Munich district executive announced its resignation. After a three-hour “unusually clear discussion”, Stoiber stated that the CSU leadership in the Bavarian capital had “followed his request to make a fresh start”. At the district party convention, which was scheduled for September 17, 2004, "the entire board wanted to return their mandate to the delegates". Stoiber had previously threatened to dissolve the Munich district association and incorporate it into that of Upper Bavaria.

The Regional Court Munich I announced on November 26, 2004 that both the defendants and the public prosecutor's office had withdrawn their appeals shortly before the start of the appeal hearing, which was scheduled for November 29, 2004 . The ruling of the Munich District Court against the councilor Christian Baretti, who had meanwhile been excluded from the Munich CSU parliamentary group, and the former Junge Union city chief Rasso Graber, dated June 29, 2004, became final. Stephanie Lütge's criminal proceedings had previously been discontinued against payment of the amount of money. The lawyer was spared a criminal record that would have blocked her way into the legal profession. The defendants had originally announced that they would "unpack" extensively. As a result, Monika Hohlmeier, the former head of the Munich CSU, would have been plunged into calamities again. The lawyers of Christian Baretti and Rasso Graber announced that their clients had decided to take this step "in order to avert the otherwise unavoidable damage to the CSU due to extensive evidence taking". But this does not mean an admission of guilt.

On December 9, 2004, the CSU reached an agreement with the opposition in the legal committee of the state parliament on a list of questions for the Hohlmeier committee of inquiry. This also included questions about the election fraud affair of the Munich CSU.

Even before the committee of inquiry was formally resolved, Monika Hohlmeier came under fire for a political issue. According to participants, Prime Minister Stoiber reprimanded the increasing shortage of teachers in Bavaria in a cabinet meeting on December 14, 2004 . Cabinet members confirmed that the Bavarian head of government had a real outburst of anger: “What you do in the Ministry of Culture, I will no longer be offered. This will not be without serious consequences. I promise you that! "

Committee of Inquiry and Resignation

On December 16, 2004, the Bavarian State Parliament set up a committee of inquiry against the Minister of Education by a large majority. He should clarify Monika Hohlmeier's role in the election fraud scandal of the Munich CSU and investigate the suspicion of inadmissible party work and favoritism. The SPD and the Greens accused the minister of abuse of power and demanded her immediate dismissal. The 42-year-old daughter of the late Prime Minister Franz Josef Strauss had "trampled law and order" and "used her ministry as a family business and self-service shop", argued the deputy SPD parliamentary group leader Karin Radermacher . The CSU, on the other hand , accused the opposition of a dirt campaign with untenable allegations and prejudices. The CSU MP Alexander König complained that red-green is not about education, but about a "pure show event". The committee started its work on the same day.

A two-page letter from committee chairman Engelbert Kupka (CSU) to the opposition caused great resentment among the SPD and the Greens on January 19, 2005. The letter was interpreted in such a way that the CSU parliamentary group wanted to prevent Monika Hohlmeier from giving testimony to the events in the Munich CSU. In addition, Engelbert Kupka expressed concerns about a number of evidence requests that the SPD and the Greens had made. The attempt to thwart the interrogation of Monika Hohlmeier was related to major concerns in the CSU that the investigative committee could lead to an open mud battle between Monika Hohlmeier and the Munich CSU MPs because of the so-called "dossier affair".

Although the Hohlmeier testimony could not be prevented, the committee decided on January 20, 2005 with a majority of the CSU that the Minister of Culture should not be heard as a witness, but as a suspect. She thus had a comprehensive right to refuse to testify . In addition, she could call in a lawyer, submit her own applications and had the right to inspect files .

On April 7, 2005, the Munich Chief Public Prosecutor Christian Schmidt-Sommerfeldt incriminated the Minister of Education. He testified as the first witness in the committee that the politician had early knowledge of irregularities in the election fraud affair in the Perlach CSU branch. Until then, Monika Hohlmeier had denied that she had been informed of the events surrounding the controversial membership. The Munich chief investigator said of the influence of unorthodox recruited new members on the election: "According to the files, she must have known about it."

Monika Hohlmeier rejected all allegations on April 13, 2005. She is deeply affected by the "personal extermination campaign". This is led by individual party colleagues in defamatory and perfidious form. Some CSU politicians had previously been quoted anonymously in the press calling for the minister of education to be dismissed. However, her successor as Munich CSU chairman, Otmar Bernhard, rejected a report according to which her exclusion from the party was being considered. This step is "in no way intended".

However, on April 14, 2005, a “key witness” of the affair confirmed the explosive suspicions in the investigative committee. According to Maximilian Junker, the former head of the Junge Union district of Hohenbrunn , who has meanwhile been fined , Monika Hohlmeier knew early on of falsified applications for membership and buying votes in the Munich CSU: "Yes, she knew, she did not prevent it," gave he on record. The Strauss daughter was the "conductor of the entire operation". Before the election fraud there was “a kind of command structure,” said the then 24-year-old Junker. "Everyone involved was aware that Ms. Hohlmeier was sitting at the top." The witness also reported that he had overheard a phone call from Hohlmeier to Joachim Haedke, member of the CSU state parliament. Haedke informed the former Munich CSU district chairman that the price for member purchases had risen to 500 euros per person. Haedke, the former CSU city councilor Christian Baretti and the former head of the Munich Young Union, Rasso Graber, reassured him several times: "If that comes out, Monika will cover all of us." Later he was urged not to testify.

Also on April 14, 2005, Monika Hohlmeier was openly untruthful in the Süddeutsche Zeitung by Hans Podiuk, the chairman of the Munich CSU town hall faction: "An abyss of lies and deception" is revealed in the investigative committee. He made new allegations against the minister. When he had tracked down falsified applications for membership in December 2002 and Hohlmeier reported his intention to initiate party regulatory proceedings against Maximilian Junker and any backers, she replied: “You are not initiating anything against anyone.” There, said Hans Podiuk “The interdependencies have already become very clear to me.” After these publications, the SPD and the Greens renewed their calls for resignation. The deputy Munich district chairman Ludwig Spaenle supported Hans Podiuk's unveiling on April 15, 2005. He was a "witness" when Podiuk informed the minister in December 2002 about falsified membership applications.

On Friday, April 15, 2005 at 3 p.m., Monika Hohlmeier announced her resignation from the ministerial office. At a press conference called at short notice in Munich, she stated that this was a “very personal decision” that she had previously agreed with Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber (CSU). Already on 20 April 2005 suggested Prime Minister Stoiber to Eichstätter CSU member of parliament Siegfried Schneider (* 1956) in the CSU parliamentary group, succeeding Monika hollow Meier ago. This officially confirmed what the media had been reporting for days. Siegfried Schneider was sworn in on April 22, 2005.

Statements, quizzes and quarrels

In the Hohlmeier investigation committee of the state parliament there was a scandal on April 22, 2005 . The SPD and the Greens accused the CSU majority of openly obstructing educational work. The session was terminated prematurely. For its part, the CSU wanted to fend off the attempt by the SPD and the Greens to negotiate the election fraud affair of the Munich CSU in the committee. According to his spokesman, the President of the Landtag, Alois Glück, was ready for a mediation meeting if this was requested by all sides. The Green parliamentary group leader Margarete Bause sharply criticized the committee chairman Engelbert Kupka (CSU): "He is one-sided, he is partisan, he pursues a deliberate strategy of obstruction and confusion." The trigger of the dispute was that Engelbert Kupka tightened the questioning and questions only wanted to allow the Munich CSU affair if they had a connection to the resigned minister of education. "This is not a quiz event," said Kupka, justifying his approach: "We are not entitled to internal party purges."

After a conversation with Landtag President Alois Glück (CSU) on April 26, 2005, the CSU and the opposition settled their dispute over the continuation of the Hohlmeier investigation committee. The committee chairman Engelbert Kupka (CSU) wanted to accelerate the questioning of the witnesses and change the usual procedure in which a witness is questioned one after the other by all three factions . The SPD and the Greens protested sharply against this. After Glück's mediation, it remained that, after Engelbert Kupka, first the SPD and then the Greens asked their questions. However, the questions were grouped in blocks. If the questions deviated too much from the topic, Engelbert Kupka was able to intervene. The main point of dispute was whether the committee was also allowed to investigate internal affairs of the Munich CSU.

On May 12, 2005, one of the key figures in the Munich CSU affair should have testified, Joachim Haedke, member of the state parliament. But he apologized due to illness. The SPD demanded a special appointment for Joachim Haedke at the end of May 2005. Instead, the CSU MP Peter Welnhofer , one of the most important party lawyers of the CSU, appeared as a witness. On February 5, 2003, Peter Welnhofer chaired the confused meeting of the Munich-Perlach local association, for which membership applications had been falsified and members had been bought. Monika Hohlmeier asked him to do this, said Welnhofer. When he was confronted with the notarized membership applications, he was "very astonished". For him, however, this was only a measure to document the right to vote of the newly admitted members. If someone had told him about fakes or member purchases at the time, he would have thought it was a "poorly made up smear comedy". The election meeting was difficult and full of tension, "it almost burst," recalled Peter Welnhofer.

The CSU state parliament member Joachim Haedke refused to testify before the investigative committee on May 30, 2005 in order not to incriminate himself. According to the Munich judiciary, Joachim Haedke was the mastermind behind the intrigues within the CSU that led to the overthrow of the former minister of education, Monika Hohlmeier. Haedke's lawyer Ingram Lohberger announced that his 35-year-old client was not obliged to put himself at risk of preliminary investigation . According to the SPD and the Greens, Haedke was the link between Monika Hohlmeier and the young intrigues.

On June 21, 2005, Münchner Merkur reported that Stephanie Lütge had left the CSU: “The former deputy chairman of the Perlach CSU, Stephanie Lütge, justified her resignation by stating that the Munich CSU had 'extremely unequal treatment' of the accused in public prosecution proceedings give ". She complained on the one hand that the Munich CSU had imposed a five-year suspension of office on her despite the suspension of its proceedings, and on the other hand that an investigation against the head of the town hall parliamentary group, Hans Podiuk, was "totally ignored".

The two-time OB candidate of the Munich CSU Aribert Wolf confirmed on July 7, 2005 the version of his Munich CSU board colleague Ludwig Spaenle, according to which Monika Hohlmeier admitted her party friends in the course of the dossier affair with the words “there is something against each of you” tried to blackmail. Aribert Wolf said he was not impressed by this: "I just thought: That was the end of the Hohlmeier era."

On the same day, the former Junge Union functionary Maximilian Junker and the chairman of the CSU district association Munich 4, ex-city councilor Curt Niklas, accused each other of lying at a confrontation. Before the state parliament committee, Junker confirmed his earlier statement that he had received 2,500 euros for the purchase of new CSU members at a meeting with Curt Niklas and Joachim Haedke, who was the key figure in the whole affair. Curt Niklas, a confidante of Monika Hohlmeier, again called this statement a lie. Maximilian Junker countered with the same accusation. The witnesses had been reappointed before the committee because of the contradictions between their earlier statements. Both confirmed that they had met once in Haedke's apartment. Both at the time and the course of the brief meeting, however, gave completely different information. The committee chairman Engelbert Kupka (CSU) noted a "total dissent" between the two witness statements.

Monika Hohlmeier in front of the committee

July 29, 2005 marked a preliminary high point for the committee of inquiry . Ex-minister of education Monika Hohlmeier testified at times in tears that she had neither supported election fraud in the Munich CSU nor blackmailed party colleagues. She had forced the electoral affair to be cleared up, but the Munich CSU was “an intriguing barn”, in which “only scuffles and intrigues prevailed”. She admitted: "I was too naive about what one shouldn't be in the Munich district association." She only found out about the election fraud in the CSU local association Perlach in 2002/2003 afterwards. There were no alleged phone calls about member purchases. Her mistake was not to have questioned complaints and "vague suggestions".

The statements of the former Minister of Education sparked a storm of protest in the Munich CSU the following weekend. She had indirectly accused several board members, including the CSU parliamentary group leader Hans Podiuk , the treasurer Richard Quaas and the state parliament member Ludwig Spaenle of lying. Therefore, after several crisis talks on the last weekend in July 2005, the immediate management of the district board called for serious consequences. Because of the upcoming federal election, however, out of consideration for the party, it was agreed that the "Causa Hohlmeier" would not be clarified until after the federal election .

Monika Hohlmeier anticipated any party penalties. On August 1, 2005 at 2:22 p.m., she informed various editors by fax that she had left the CSU district association in Munich and had switched to the local association where she lived in Vaterstetten . In the letter, she explained that, after speaking with the district chairwoman Christa Stewens and the Upper Bavarian district chairman Alois Glück , she had already decided weeks ago to end her work in the Munich district association after her testimony before the investigative committee . The former Munich CSU boss wants to continue to represent the Munich-Milbertshofen constituency in the state parliament.

Outside employment and grants

On October 13, 2005, a section head told the investigative committee that when he switched to the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs in 2001, he was immediately offered a second job permit - even during his service time. In three years, however, the minister had only worked twice for CSU matters. Of the 15 employees who had a secondary employment permit at the time of Hohlmeier, eleven permits were only withdrawn in 2004 after allegations against the ex-minister of education. The Landtag opposition saw this as a clear amalgamation of public office and party work. Hohlmeier's former office manager Harald Vorleuter, however, rejected the accusations in his interrogation. The employees did not have any party activity in the main office and there was a correct separation of state and party office.

A witness testimony caused great excitement on October 27, 2005. A now retired head of unit testified that his successor in office had pointed out to him before he appeared as a witness that a controversial ministerial secondary employment permit could be a “sore point”. To this end, she showed him a transcript from the committee. Ulrich Ossig, the ministry representative on the committee, admitted that he passed on his notes from the meetings to superiors in the company. But he kept the official protocols under lock and key. Representatives of the opposition parties recognized in this process a violation of the law of the investigative committee and the code of criminal procedure . In a joint statement, the SPD and Green Hohlmeier's successor, Siegfried Schneider , asked to comment on the incidents: "The ministry is making a significant contribution to thwarting an investigation into the Hohlmeier affair." Committee chairman Engelbert Kupka recognized the need for clarification, threw but at the same time presented the opposition with "pathetic attempts at scandal". Minister of Education Schneider promised a complete explanation, because "in the Ministry of Education there are no instructions to influence witnesses or even to inform them in advance."

On November 11, 2005, Michael Hohlmeier, the husband of the former CSU top politician, denied that his marriage had had a positive effect on providing the visually impaired school in Unterschleißheim, which he ran as deputy director, with 8.7 million euros in construction grants. He never spoke to his wife about his work. Michael Hohlmeier also rejected the second accusation that he had given instructions to employees of the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs: “I can answer both questions with a clear no.” The expansion of the school for the blind had been planned since 1996. “I only joined in July 2003. The fact that construction began in my time was pure coincidence. ”The parliamentary group leader of the Greens Margarete Bause objected that the work of the Hohlmeier husband at the school still had“ a taste ”when“ the minister of education's husband worked in one area is where the Ministry distributes funding ”.

On November 30, 2005, the SPD parliamentary group announced a lawsuit before the Bavarian Constitutional Court in order to enforce a confrontation between the former Minister of Education and Culture Hohlmeier and her CSU counterparty, Hans Podiuk. Previously, the deputy leader of the SPD parliamentary group Karin Radermacher had stated that there were considerable contradictions between the statements by Podiuk and Hohlmeier about the events in the Munich CSU. Both had accused each other of lying in the committee of inquiry. The CSU parliamentary group categorically rejected the comparison in the state parliament plenum on the same day. There is no “urgent interest in clarification”. Committee chairman Kupka denied that the opposition had a minority right to a confrontation.

"World Cup Task Force"

On January 31, 2006, the Bavarian State Parliament decided, following an initiative by the SPD and the Greens, to expand the commission of inquiry. Now it should also be clarified to what extent Monika Hohlmeier was responsible for irregularities around a working group called “Task Force”. The inter-ministerial working group was set up by the state government on March 18, 2003. Under the leadership of Economics Minister Otto Wiesheu and Education Minister Hohlmeier, officials from both ministries were supposed to organize the 3.73 million euro cultural program of the Free State of Bavaria for the 2006 World Cup . Three years later, the Münchner Merkur stated on February 2, 2006: "The Supreme Audit Office had criticized chaotic planning, cost overruns and breach of law in the award of contracts."

The lavish “Visions of Football” congress (July 27-29, 2005) in the International Congress Center Munich (ICM) closed with a deficit of 1.56 million euros. Of the planned 1,200 visitors, only about 240 came and only 85 paid the regular participation fee. Hohlmeier's successor in office, Siegfried Schneider, canceled a commissioned musical and, in July 2005, dismissed task force chief Harald Vorleuter, who had been Hohlmeier's office manager since August 2002. Due to explosive and far-reaching personnel interdependencies, on March 3, 2006, Mercury observed a restricted clearing radius: “Reconnaissance? Barely. The committee hastily tied their hands. All questions about the World Cup debacle will be limited to Hohlmeier's term of office under pressure from the CSU - where a lot, but not everything, was botched. "

At a press conference on March 6, 2006, Hans-Ulrich Pfaffmann , member of the state parliament, and Michael Bihler, the lawyer, presented the wording of the SPD parliamentary group complaint before the Bavarian Constitutional Court against the rejection of the application for evidence by the CSU majority.

On March 10, 2006, an employee of the WM office said in the investigation committee that the government headquarters had "intervened more than usual". This brought the Bavarian Prime Minister into the focus of the Münchner Merkur: "His colleague confirmed a report in our newspaper that a confidante of Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber had checked the plans from the beginning of 2005". The Greens and the SPD saw this as a clear indication of Stoiber's complicity in the failed and deficit projects.

Monika Hohlmeier designed her testimony to the investigative committee on May 12, 2006 as a humorous appearance with a lot of media attention: “In her testimony to the Bavarian investigative committee, Monika Hohlmeier gives the cheerful innocence. The Strauss daughter takes no responsibility for the millions wasted in the football World Cup framework program, "wrote Der Spiegel on May 12, 2006 and Bayerischer Rundfunk wrote:" Until she resigned, she said she had no financial problems, said the former Minister of Education. "

End of taking of evidence

At the end of the one and a half year taking of evidence, Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber was questioned by the committee of inquiry on June 1, 2006. He stressed that he had not known about the unfair methods in the Munich CSU before they were discovered. “The utterance 'dog' seids scho 'did not come out of his mouth,” reported the Münchner Merkur and the Süddeutsche Zeitung quoted him as saying: “I can't say anything about Ms. Hohlmeier's knowledge and ignorance.” Regarding the expensive event mishaps In the framework program for the 2006 soccer World Cup in the area of responsibility of the “World Cup Task Force”, he could “of course not remember the details”. If he had “had knowledge”, the Prime Minister stated that “I would logically have intervened”. According to Spiegel, Stoiber said that “no one spoke to him about financial or personnel deficits in the task force” until Monika Hohlmeier's resignation, let alone asked for help. ”Everyone“ did the work within the scope of their responsibilities ”. On June 2, 2006, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung was surprised: "Stoiber did not want to know anything about his legendary reputation of having read every file in the State Chancellery and in the CSU state management at least three times personally."

On September 18, 2006, the constitutional complaint of the SPD parliamentary group was heard orally for the first time before the Bavarian Constitutional Court. The plaintiffs alleged that the state parliament CSU had violated the opposition's “minority protection” by preventing a confrontation between the former minister of education, Hohlmeier, and the parliamentary group leader of the Munich city hall CSU Podiuk. The CSU, on the other hand, stated that the application was a “suggestion of evidence” that was not covered by the protection of minorities.

The Bavarian Constitutional Court rejected the request of the SPD parliamentary group on October 10, 2006. In their judgment, the judges stated that the CSU majority on the committee had the right to refuse the comparison of Podiuk and Hohlmeier as superfluous. The President of the Constitutional Court, Karl Huber , stated: "The assessment of the majority in the state parliament that a confrontation does not promise any further gain in knowledge does not reveal a violation of minority rights, especially since a person affected in the investigative committee, unlike a witness, is not subject to any truthfulness in the event of a testimony."

On December 1, 2006, the chairman of the committee of inquiry, Engelbert Kupka, presented the 170-page draft of a final report. Austria Presse Agentur and dpa quoted him as saying: "We have not found any evidence that Monika Hohlmeier knew or even controlled something". Not only the state parliament opposition protested against the exposé, but also important officials of the CSU. Their state parliament member Ludwig Spaenle described the report as "embarrassing" and as an "indictment of the work of this investigative committee" and the head of the Munich CSU, Hans Podiuk, said the committee had "never even attempted to fathom the truth" and the report had "just been given the task of washing a former cabinet member white - always following the motto of the famous three monkeys : hear nothing, see nothing, say nothing". On December 6, 2006, CSU parliamentary group leader Joachim Herrmann announced a change in the report in individual points and at the same time defended the chairman of the committee: "There can be no talk of a clean bill for Ms. Hohlmeier".

The final report of the committee of inquiry was discussed controversially on February 15, 2007 in the plenum of the Bavarian state parliament. The CSU majority acquitted Monika Hohlmeier of allegations of guilt in connection with the "election fraud affair". The chairman of the committee, Kupka, saw “no evidence of Monika Hohlmeier's involvement in criminal offenses”. He criticized, however, statements by Hohlmeier in the so-called "dossier affair", which could be perceived as a personal threat. He described the numerous secondary employment permits, which enabled officials from the Ministry of Culture to work for the CSU, as "excessive". In connection with the task force, neither the minister nor the managing director of the task force, Harald Vorleuter, are to be blamed for any irregularities beyond the usual project difficulties. The Supreme Audit Office was criticized in numerous places for having made its assessments one-sided and excessive. The state parliament opposition massively attacked the final report. Karin Radermacher (SPD), deputy chairman of the committee of inquiry, assessed Kupka's statements as an attempt to issue Hohlmeier with a "clean bill". However, the evidence "showed without a doubt that Ms. Hohlmeier was aware of the events". She also emphasized a joint responsibility of the Prime Minister: "We do not believe in the unsuspecting Mr. Stoiber and also not in the innocent lamb Mrs. Hohlmeier". Green parliamentary group leader Margarete Bause said that the affair had shown that there was a "Hohlmeier system". Critical voices were also heard within the CSU. The CSU state parliament member Ludwig Spaenle said that Hohlmeier had "lied to and threatened" him and others. He could "tolerate, not accept" the report.

Appendix: Structure and situation of the Munich CSU

According to the party, the CSU Munich had 9,140 members on August 1, 2005. The party structure is divided into a superordinate Munich district association, which is subordinate to 10 regional associations. These roughly correspond to two combined city districts. The district associations are divided into a total of 60 local associations at the city district level. In addition to this regional subdivision, there are also numerous working groups.

To understand the "Munich CSU affair" it is essential to dispel a popular prejudice. While the CSU has celebrated outstanding electoral successes in the Free State of Bavaria since 1945, like its predecessor party BVP before 1933, the city of Munich has been largely social democratic since the beginning of the 20th century. As early as 1914, the SPD became the strongest parliamentary group with 22 seats in the 60-strong "College of Municipal Representatives", as the voluntary city council was called at the time. In 1919, following an electoral reform, the social democrat Eduard Schmid became first mayor. In the post-war period, the CSU only succeeded in appointing the Lord Mayor twice. Karl Scharnagl , co-founder of the CSU and head of Munich from 1925 to 1933, was appointed mayor by the American occupation forces on May 4, 1945 and was confirmed in this office on June 6, 1946 in an election. In 1948 he was defeated by the SPD candidate Thomas Wimmer . After that, Social Democrats served as Lord Mayor with only one exception: Erich Kiesl (CSU), then State Secretary in the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior, was surprisingly elected Mayor of Munich with 51.4 percent on March 5, 1978 and held this office until 1984. Since then, Munich has been back governed by social democrats.

The difference between the political strength of the state and the weakness of the CSU in local politics becomes clear from a comparison of the Munich election results. Local elections 2002: CSU 36.0%, SPD 41.9%. State election 2003: CSU: 47.6%, SPD 31.2%. The CSU has been in the same diaspora situation in the city of Munich for 60 years as the SPD in the Free State of Bavaria.

Web links

Chronologies of the "Munich CSU Affair" in the media

Chronology: the way into the crisis. - sueddeutsche.de, April 12, 2005 12:56 p.m.
Quarrels and machinations: Chronology of an affair. In: Welt online , April 16, 2005

Committee of inquiry documents

Final report of the committee of inquiry ... (PDF; 154 pages; 816 kB) Bavarian State Parliament, 15th electoral period, printed matter 15/7190, January 25, 2007
Minority report of the parliamentary groups of the SPD and Bündnis90 / Die Grünen ... (PDF; 140 pages; 508 kB)

Used literature (chronological)

Munich CSU leadership is rejuvenating. In: Welt online , May 23, 2001
Matthias Kristlbauer: Stoiber outraged: Young Union calls Traublingers parliament seat , - Münchner Merkur 23 October 2002
Matthias Kristlbauer: Young Union in a clinch for the seat of the state parliament. Party friends as voting cattle. - Merkur Online, November 5, 2002
Eberhard Geiger: Traublinger winner in his home game. CSU local chairmanship recaptured. - Merkur Online, February 7, 2003
Eberhard Geiger: CSU noise ends up with the public prosecutor. Indications of manipulation in the Perlach party election - board of directors denied. - Merkur Online, February 24, 2003
Matthias Kristlbauer: Perlach affair: evidence disappeared. CSU branch in twilight. - Merkur Online, February 26, 2003
Matthias Kristlbauer: Mud Battle of the Rebels. How the Junge Union regularly puts the CSU in the twilight. - Merkur Online, February 28, 2003
Jörg Schallenberg: Papers in preventive detention . In: taz , February 28, 2003, page 6
Matthias Kristlbauer: CSU: The next election affair is imminent. Members of the JU smuggled in ?. - Merkur Online, March 18, 2003
@1@ 2( Page no longer available , search in web archives: The tasks of TASK FORCE. ) - Bavarian State Ministry for Education and Culture, March 18, 2003
Eberhard Geiger: Young CSU people try the next fall: attack on Hans Podiuk. - Merkur Online, May 21, 2003
Eberhard Geiger: CSU: Baretti ousts district chief Podiuk: The new one announces: There are no hereditary farms. - Merkur Online, May 24, 2003
In brief: Hohlmeier leads CSU in Munich. ( Memento of May 16, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) - Welt am Sonntag / AFP, June 29, 2003
Jan Bielicki: CSU affair: Suspicious emails and mysterious meetings. - sueddeutsche.de, July 22, 2003, 5:38 p.m.
Hohlmeier calls for the first party expulsion. - (pi). - World on Sunday, July 27, 2003
Matthias Kristlbauer: CSU affair: Hohlmeier lets first head roll. - Merkur Online, July 28, 2003
Berthold Neff: CSU affair: raid on JU boss Rasso Graber. - sueddeutsche.de, August 21, 2003, 9:46 a.m.
Matthias Kristlbauer: Judges should clean up the CSU. - Merkur Online, August 22, 2003
Albert Schäffer: The Munich swamp worries the CSU leaders , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, August 25, 2003
Berthold Neff: CSU leadership attacks JU boss: Graber does not want to give up his office. - sueddeutsche.de, August 25, 2003, 6:26 p.m.
Matthias Kristlbauer: Luck increases the pressure on the JU boss. - Merkur Online, August 25, 2003
Berthold Neff: CSU affair: Hohlmeier wants to overthrow JU boss. - sueddeutsche.de, August 28, 2003, 5:47 p.m.
Berthold Neff: CSU affair: Graber gives up. - sueddeutsche.de, August 29, 2003, 4:22 p.m.
Matthias Kristlbauer: JU boss is facing the end. - Merkur Online, August 29, 2003
Berthold Neff: Accountant for bribes? Raid on CSU hopefuls Christian Baretti. - sueddeutsche.de, September 5, 2003, 5:09 p.m.
Berthold Neff: CSU affair: court rejects penalty order against Baretti. - sueddeutsche.de, January 14, 2004, 5:45 p.m.
Matthias Kristlbauer: JU boss Graber does not run after the affair. - Merkur Online, January 17, 2004
Berthold Neff: CSU affair: Baretti will not get rid of the coal. - sueddeutsche.de, January 19, 2004, 5:17 p.m.
Matthias Kristlbauer: The hunters of the shifted treasure: accounts in CSU district association checked. - Merkur Online, January 19, 2004
Sporer, Wolfgang: Page no longer available , search in web archives: Visit from the task force (glossary). @1@ 2- Merkur Online, February 3, 2004, 8:41 pm
Jan Bielicki: Image campaign: Stoiber: Munich is the capital of world football. - sueddeutsche.de, February 3, 2004, 4:47 p.m.
CSU parliamentary group: Off for Baretti. - sueddeutsche.de/dpa, March 8, 2004, 4:18 p.m.
White new JU boss: 22-year-old wants to set up a code of honor. - (mk). - Merkur Online, March 11, 2004
Jan Bielicki: Start of the process: District court examines the CSU election scandal. - sueddeutsche.de, April 23, 2004, 5:06 p.m.
Jan Bielicki: Party Law: The Exclusion Committee. - sueddeutsche.de, April 25, 2005, 5:26 p.m.
Matthias Kristlbauer: CSU election scandal comes to court. - Merkur Online, April 28, 2004
Matthias Kristlbauer: CSU trial: two defendants confess. - Merkur Online, May 3, 2004
Berthold Neff: The strange methods of the CSU youngsters. - sueddeutsche.de, May 7, 2004, 5 p.m.
Sebastian Sigler: Mud battle in the Munich CSU because of alleged "member purchases". - Die Welt, May 22, 2004
Berthold Neff: The buddy becomes a witness for the prosecution CSU forgery affair: The buddy becomes a witness for the prosecution. - sueddeutsche.de, May 24, 2004, 11:11 a.m.
Matthias Kristlbauer: Mild penalties for counterfeiters in CSU affair. Haedke burdened even more. - Merkur Online, May 28, 2004
Matthias Kristlbauer: CSU affair: Problems with party exclusion. - Merkur Online, June 1, 2004
Peter Fahrenholz: Munich CSU: The hopeful loses her magic. - sueddeutsche.de, June 27, 2004, 5:36 pm
Verdict: Fines for Baretti & Co. - sueddeutsche.de/ddp, June 29, 2004, 9:17 a.m.
Bielicki, Jan: CSU forgery affair: “Indecent member purchase”. - sueddeutsche.de, June 29, 2004, 4:44 p.m.
Matthias Kristlbauer: Three convictions and a dark threat. - Merkur Online, June 29, 2004
Matthias Kristlbauer: Hohlmeier: Didn't know anything about trickery. - Merkur Online, July 6, 2004, 8:28 p.m.
Cornelia Wohlhüter: CSU Munich is still looking for the 'mastermind'. - Passauer Neue Presse, July 6, 2004
Berthold Neff: Ex-JU boss shoots back: "Hohlmeier approved Podiuks fall". - sueddeutsche.de, July 15, 2004, 4:07 p.m.
CSU affair: Hohlmeier comes under pressure. Stoiber keeps his distance. - (dw / ege). - Merkur Online, July 16, 2004, 9:47 p.m.
Jan Bielicki: After a six-hour crisis meeting: Haedke banned from party offices for five years. - sueddeutsche.de, July 19, 2004, 7:07 p.m.
Jan Bielicki: Purchased members: Hohlmeier has to give up the Munich CSU chairmanship. - sueddeutsche.de, July 20, 2004, 6:27 p.m.
Sebastian Beck, Jan Bielicki, Peter Fahrenholz: Hohlmeier's revelations: hopeful offside. - sueddeutsche.de, July 21, 2004, 4:14 p.m.
Georg Anastasiadis: Page no longer available , search in web archives: Hohlmeier's dossiers: Why the Minister of Education has to fall - and may not. @1@ 2- Merkur Online, July 21, 2004, 8:29 p.m.
Tom Levine, Ralf Müller: Final in Munich CSU affair: Opposition calls for Hohlmeier to resign . In: Berliner Zeitung , July 22, 2004, p. 5
Jan Bielicki, Berthold Neff: Joachim Haedke: The decision to expel. - sueddeutsche.de, July 22, 2004, 4:15 p.m.
Berthold Neff: Hohlmeier's secret dossiers: "She tells the untruth". - sueddeutsche.de, July 23, 2004, 1:48 p.m.
Munich: Hohlmeier resigns as CSU leader. - sueddeutsche.de/dpa/ddp, July 23, 2004, 3:57 p.m.
Conflict in the CSU Munich: Hohlmeier apologizes. - sueddeutsche.de/dpa, July 24, 2004, 4:25 p.m.
Peter Issig, Martina Kausch: Own goal through no fault of their own. - World on Sunday, July 24, 2005
Conflict in the CSU Munich: Stoiber criticizes Hohlmeier. - sueddeutsche.de/dpa, July 25, 2004, 3:04 p.m.
Peter Fahrenholz: Comment: The end of the Strauss era. Monika Hohlmeier and Max Strauss - a political dynasty is experiencing its final hours. - sueddeutsche.de, July 25, 2004, 4:46 p.m.
Peter Fahrenholz: Dossier affair: Stoiber forces Hohlmeier to apologize. - sueddeutsche.de, July 26, 2004, 11:37 a.m.
Berthold Neff: Threats to reveal: Public prosecutors examine proceedings against Hohlmeier. - sueddeutsche.de, July 26, 2004, 4:08 p.m.
Rupp Doinet: Monika Hohlmeier: Very old !. ( Memento from July 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) - stern, July 27, 2004
Did Monika Hohlmeier use officials for CSU purposes inappropriately? Parliamentary groups of the SPD and the Greens are demanding clarification about the amalgamation of office and party work. - Bayern-SPD / Online from the state parliament, July 29, 2004
Berthold Neff: Interview with the designated district chairman: "It all hurt us very much". - sueddeutsche.de, August 2, 2004, 11:04 am
Nepotism? New trouble for Monika Hohlmeier. - stern.de/dpa/Reuters, August 6, 2004
Peter Fahrenholz: Members affair: Stoiber threatens Munich CSU with dissolution. - sueddeutsche.de, August 6, 2004, 5:33 p.m.
Hohlmeier affair: "I see a need for correction". - sueddeutsche.de/ddp, August 10, 2004, 1:36 p.m.
Jan Bielicki: Hohlmeier affair: election campaign with ministerial letterhead. - sueddeutsche.de, August 12, 2004, 5:06 p.m.
Stoiber wants to resign from the Munich CSU board: CSU boss wants to set an example for a new beginning. - (lby / mol). - Merkur Online / dpa, August 13, 2004, 3:08 p.m.
Jan Bielicki: Dissolution of the CSU board: "This is pure show". - sueddeutsche.de, August 13, 2004, 5:40 p.m.
Matthias Kristlbauer: Page no longer available , search in web archives: The clean man's word of power: Stoiber calls for a new election for the Munich CSU. @1@ 2- Merkur Online, August 13, 2004, 9:16 p.m.
Jan Bielicki: Resignation: The CSU board follows Stoiber's clear request. - sueddeutsche.de, August 16, 2004, 1:33 p.m.
Jürgen Balthasar: The board of the Munich CSU resigns. ( Memento from September 10, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) In: Tagesspiegel online / dpa, August 16, 2004, 4:24 p.m.
Peter Fahrenholz: Monika Hohlmeier: Inside on probation. - sueddeutsche.de/dpa/ddp, September 10, 2004, 1:52 p.m.
School misery: "The deficiency cannot be remedied overnight". - sueddeutsche.de, October 22, 2004, 10:08 am (Interview by Christine Burtscheidt with Monika Hohlmeier)
Hans Holzhaider: Hohlmeier affair: Landtag should also clarify Stoiber's role. - sueddeutsche.de, October 29, 2004, 5:13 p.m.
CSU election affair: Baretti and Graber withdraw their appeal. - sueddeutsche.dedpa / ddp, November 26, 2004, 4:44 p.m.
Monika Hohlmeier: Heavy ruffle from the boss. - sueddeutsche.de/dpa/ddp, December 14, 2004, 4:11 p.m.
CSU: Stoiber strengthens Hohlmeier's back. - sueddeutsche.de/dpa/ddp, December 15, 2004, 1:19 p.m.
Election fraud at CSU: exchange of blows in the state parliament. - sueddeutsche.de/AP, December 16, 2004, 1:29 p.m.
Sebastian Beck: School reform: Cabinet discusses a lack of educators. - sueddeutsche.de, December 17, 2004, 4:26 p.m.
Bavaria: Instead of 800, at least 1,100 teachers are missing. - sueddeutsche.de/dpa, December 19, 2004, 4:47 p.m.
School misery: Bavaria wants to create additional teaching positions. - sueddeutsche.de/ddp, December 20, 2004, 3:46 p.m.
Christine Burtscheidt: Financing: The Bavarian educational lie. - sueddeutsche.de, December 21, 2004, 11:01 a.m.
Peter Fahrenholz: Investigative Committee: CSU wants to prevent Hohlmeier from being questioned. - sueddeutsche.de, January 19, 2005, 6:07 p.m.
CSU affair: Monika Hohlmeier knew about CSU machinations. - sueddeutsche.de/AP, April 7, 2005, 2:09 p.m.
Berthold Neff: Outraged party colleagues: CSU members feel lied to. - sueddeutsche.de, April 8, 2005, 5:29 p.m.
Hohlmeier Committee: Stoiber under pressure. - sueddeutsche.de/dpa, April 12, 2005, 1:33 p.m.
Peter Fahrenholz: Hohlmeier affair: Stoiber's bite inhibition. - sueddeutsche.de, April 14, 2005, 9:54 a.m.
Kassian Stroh: Witness heavily incriminates Bavarian Minister of Education: Hohlmeier is said to have controlled illegal machinations. - sueddeutsche.de, April 14, 2005, 8:26 p.m.
Peter Fahrenholz, Jan Bielicki: Monika Hohlmeier: Mrs. General loses her troops. ( Memento from June 22, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) - sueddeutsche.de, April 14, 2005, 5:18 pm
Election fraud affair: "Abyss of lies and deception". - FAZ.Net/AFP/ddp, April 15, 2005
After the committee of inquiry: “An abyss of lies and deception”. - (bas / burt / kast / jbb). - sueddeutsche.de, April 15, 2005, 10:03 a.m.
Donation affair: Hohlmeier gives up. - sueddeutsche.de/ddp/dpa, April 15, 2005, 2:52 pm (Note from WP: The surtitle “Donation affair” is obviously an “affair naming error”. In view of her diligent publications on the subject, without the If this article had not been possible, the Süddeutsche Zeitung would gladly look up this lapse.)
Election fraud affair: Monika Hohlmeier resigns. - Die Zeit online / dpa, April 15, 2005
(KUZ): Bavaria now without a bouquet . ( Memento from May 5, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) In: taz , April 16, 2005, focal point, page 6
After Hohlmeier's resignation: "I also made mistakes". - sueddeutsche.de/AFP/dpa, April 16, 2005 12:10 p.m.
Hannes Burger: The “Strauss System” has long since had its day in Bavaria. Monika Hohlmeier relied on the wrong friends. - Die Welt.de, April 18, 2005
Jan Bielicki: “We will continue as planned”. (Interview with the SPD member of the state parliament Hans-Ulrich Pfaffmann ). - sueddeutsche.de, April 18, 2005, 11:40 a.m.
Michael Stiller : Coping with affairs: The investigation must continue. - sueddeutsche.de, April 18, 2005, 5:36 p.m.
Munich: Schneider becomes Bavarian Minister of Culture. - sueddeutsche.de/dpa, April 20, 2005, 3:03 p.m.
Scandal in the Hohlmeier committee: "He is pursuing a deliberate strategy of confusion". - sueddeutsche.de/ddp/dpa, April 22, 2005, 4:51 p.m.
Early exit: Baretti's lawyer: The CSU wanted to slaughter him. - sueddeutsche.de, April 26, 2005, 5:33 p.m.
Hohlmeier Committee: It can go on. - sueddeutsche.de/dpa, April 26, 2005, 5:56 p.m.
CSU affair: Haedke is not kicked out of the CSU. - sueddeutsche.de, April 27, 2005, 2:21 pm
Peter Fahrenholz: Committee of Inquiry: The Crown Lawyer and the Schmierenkomödie. - sueddeutsche.de, May 12, 2005, 4:22 p.m.
Hohlmeier Committee: Haedke protects himself. - sueddeutsche.de/dpa, May 30, 2005, 3:59 pm
Eberhard Geiger: Heavy artillery: The SPD wants to throw CSU man Haedke out of the state parliament. - Merkur Online, May 31, 2005, 8:08 p.m.
Matthias Kristlbauer: Election trickster resigns from the CSU. - In: Münchner Merkur , June 21, 2005
Hohlmeier investigative committee: Erwin Huber did not know anything about the Munich CSU affair. - sueddeutsche.de/dpa, June 30, 2005, 1:49 p.m.
One testifies, grins and leaves, two argue violently. ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) - Donaukurier Online / dpa, July 7, 2005, 8:02 p.m.
Hohlmeier Committee: Junker and Niklas accuse each other of lying. - sueddeutsche.de/ddp, July 8, 2005, 9:21 a.m.
Jan Bielicki: New leadership wants to pacify Munich CSU. - sueddeutsche.de, July 8, 2005, 4:38 p.m.
"Task Force" under fire. - Bayerischer Rundfunk, July 15, 2005
Stroh, Kassian: World Cup supporting program: A lot of trouble before kick-off. - sueddeutsche.de, July 19, 2005, 5:52 p.m.
Exchange of blows to the "World Cup Task Force". - Bayerischer Rundfunk, July 19, 2005
Peter Fahrenholz: Hohlmeier's appearance: Back in the Intrigantenstadl. - sueddeutsche.de, July 29, 2005, 4:22 p.m.
Peter Fahrenholz: Investigative Committee: SPD and Greens question Hohlmeier's credibility. - sueddeutsche.de, July 29, 2005, 4:45 p.m.
CSU: Hohlmeier complains about Munich intriguing stalls. - Spiegel Online, July 29, 2005
Berthold Neff: Storm of protest according to statement: Munich CSU is considering Hohlmeier's exclusion. - sueddeutsche.de, August 1, 2005, 9:47 a.m.
After storm of protest: Hohlmeier leaves Munich CSU. - sueddeutsche.de/dpa/ddp, August 1, 2005, 3:36 p.m.
Election fraud affair: Hohlmeier resigns from the Munich CSU. In: Spiegel Online , August 1, 2005
Berthold Neff: According to the committee of inquiry: Hohlmeier resigns from the Munich CSU. - sueddeutsche.de, August 1, 2005, 5:40 p.m.
Nada Weigelt: Monika Hohlmeier: The failed manager. - stern.de/dpa, August 1, 2005
Peter Fahrenholz: Comment: Receipt for Stoiber. - sueddeutsche.de, August 2, 2005, 8:57 a.m.
(lby): Charges against Haedke? SPD calls for support from the CSU parliamentary group. In: Passauer Neue Presse /pnp.de, August 13, 2005
Hohlmeier committee captured by election campaign: Kupka: SPD wants to stage a scandal. - Merkur Online, September 10, 2005, midnight
Committee of Inquiry: Ministry of Culture permitted secondary employment. - Bayerischer Rundfunk, October 12, 2005
Dirk Walter: Hohlmeier method: new disclosure in the investigation committee. ( Memento of June 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) - Merkur Online, October 20, 2005, 8:05 p.m.
Hohlmeier case: tutoring for committee witnesses ?. - Bayerischer Rundfunk, October 27, 2005
CSU protects Hohlmeier from confrontation. - Merkur Online, October 14, 2005, midnight
Hohlmeier put pressure on the school principal. - Bayerischer Rundfunk, October 20, 2005
Investigation committee: Hohlmeier husband: no financial benefits. - sueddeutsche.de/dpa, November 11, 2005, 3:36 p.m.
Eberhard Geiger: SPD wants a duel between Hohlmeier and Podiuk. - Merkur Online, November 26, 2005 00:00
SPD wants to enforce comparison. - Bayerischer Rundfunk, November 30, 2005
Munich CSU wants to get rid of Haedke. - Bayerischer Rundfunk, December 12, 2005
Matthias Kristlbauer: Munich CSU wants to put Haedke in front of the door: Second attempt at exclusion. - Merkur Online, December 13, 2005, 12:00 a.m.
World Cup chaos should be cleared up. - Merkur Online, February 2, 2006, midnight
Christian Deutschländer: Strange gentleness after the million dollar debacle. - Merkur Online, March 3, 2006, 8:58 pm
Michael Langer: Hohlmeier Committee of Inquiry: SPD files a complaint with the Bavarian Constitutional Court. - Press release, SPD parliamentary group, March 6, 2006
Bavaria's SPD files a lawsuit against the Hohlmeier committee. ( Memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) - greenpeace magazine, March 6, 2006, 3:56 p.m.
Hohlmeier goes on the offensive in the World Cup debacle. - Merkur Online / dpa, March 10, 2006, 2:49 p.m.
Deutschländer, Christian: Hohlmeier's staff: "There were no ruffles". - Merkur Online, March 10, 2006, 9:04 p.m.
Page no longer available , search in web archives: Hohlmeier Committee: 'I'm getting tears'. @1@ 2- Merkur Online / dpa, April 28, 2006
Sebastian Fischer: The finale of the Strauss daughter . In: Spiegel Online , May 11, 2006
Freller believed that "things are going well". - Bayerischer Rundfunk, May 11, 2006
Sebastian Fischer: Moni's eruptive upheaval . In: Spiegel Online , May 12, 2006
Hohlmeier: Didn't know anything about the debacle. - Bayerischer Rundfunk, May 12, 2006
Christian Deutschländer: innocent lambs in a fighting mood: contradictions in the Hohlmeier committee. (No longer available online.) Merkur Online, May 13, 2006, archived from the original on February 19, 2014 ; accessed on January 2, 2014 .
Sebastian Fischer: Committee of inquiry: Stoiber, the ignorant . In: Spiegel Online , June 1, 2006
Kassian Stroh: Hohlmeier Committee: My name is Stoiber, I don't know anything. - sueddeutsche.de, June 1, 2006, 6:29 p.m.
Christian Deutschländer: Chaos in the green area. - Merkur Online, June 2, 2006, 10:59 am
CSU election affair: dog, be safe . In: FAZ , June 2, 2006
Christian Deutschländer: Political talks instead of a pleasure trip in Canada. - Merkur Online, June 24, 2006, 0:06 am
Haedke does not fly out of the CSU - sueddeutsche.de, July 10, 2006
Jan Bielicki: Despite affairs - Haedke is allowed to stay in the CSU. - Süddeutsche Zeitung, July 10, 2006
CSU: "Haedke proceedings are over". - Bayerischer Rundfunk, July 10, 2006
Christian Deutschländer: Political talks instead of a pleasure trip in Canada: Retrospectively fuss about the Hohlmeier delegation. - Merkur Online, August 19, 2006, 1:03 am
Bavarian Constitutional Court: Press release on the hearing (...) on Monday, September 18, 2006 (Vf. 19-IVa-06) , September 13, 2006
Matthias Kristlbauer: No duel between Hohlmeier and Podiuk: the court rejects the SPD's complaint. - Merkur Online, October 11, 2006
Kassian Stroh: Monika Hohlmeier: clean bill for the comeback. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , December 2, 2006
Sharp shots from within their own ranks. - Bayerischer Rundfunk, December 5, 2006
Jan Bielicki, Kassian Stroh: Leading CSU politicians criticize the Hohlmeier case: “Embarrassing for the investigative committee”. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , December 6, 2006
State Parliament CSU wants to change Hohlmeier report - peace restored. ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) - dpa, December 6, 2006 (quoted from: Bayerischer Landtag: Aktuell )
CSU sees no evidence of misconduct by Strauss daughter Hohlmeier. - derStandard.at / APA / dpa, December 7, 2006
Cornelia Wohlhüter: CSU trench warfare has reached the state parliament. ( Memento from September 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) In: Passauer Neue Presse , December 7, 2006
Jürgen Umlauft: "The final report will not be changed". In: Bayerische Staatszeitung , December 22, 2006
SPD and Greens accuse the CSU system of spying. - Merkur Online / dpa, January 24, 2007
Monika Hohlmeier exonerated , Bayerischer Rundfunk, January 25, 2007
CSU affair: the committee acquitted Hohlmeier. - Spiegel Online / dpa, February 15, 2007
Fierce debate on the final report. - Bayerischer Rundfunk, February 15, 2007
Alexander Kain: Hohlmeier Committee over after two years . ( Memento from September 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) In: Passauer Neue Presse , February 16, 2007
Christian Deutschländer: "Haedke has no place in the state parliament". - Merkur Online, January 25, 2007
Matthias Kristlbauer: Haedke shows up: CSU board members outraged. - Merkur Online, February 6, 2007
Erik Spemann: Washed clean? In: The Parliament , No. 8–9 / 2007, February 19, 2007
Berthold Neff: Controversial CSU MP: Haedke gives up. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , March 16, 2007
Matthias Kristlbauer: Joachim Haedke throws down. - Merkur Online, March 16, 2007
Jan Bielicki: New investigations into the CSU election trickster affair: who lied? In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , July 16, 2007