Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Oct 21, 2025

As mask bribery scandal spreads in Merkel’s conservative bloc, another German politician resigns – reports

As mask bribery scandal spreads in Merkel’s conservative bloc, another German politician resigns – reports

A Bavarian lawmaker has quit his party offices amid a probe into allegations he took bribes to arrange procurement contracts for face masks. He is the fourth politician connected to Chancellor Angela Merkel to resign this month.
Alfred Sauter is a three-decade veteran of the Christian Social Union (CSU), a sister party of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) based in the southern German state of Bavaria. He served two stints as the state’s minister for justice in the 1990s, and until Sunday afternoon sat on the CSU’s board, chaired its financial committee and held the district chairmanship of the CSU in his hometown of Guenzburg.

Sauter relinquished all of these offices on Sunday and paused his membership of the party’s parliamentary group, days before the CSU was due to hold a vote on expelling him.

His resignation came as prosecutors in Munich investigated reports that he took bribes from a supplier of protective equipment to land them a lucrative contract with the state as the coronavirus pandemic hit Bavaria last year. Sauter rejected the allegations of bribery, and claimed that any money he was given personally in relation to the deal was donated to charity.

In a letter to party bosses seen by the Augsburger Allgemeine on Sunday, Sauter said that he was stepping down to deflect bad publicity away from his party, but insisted that he was innocent.

“I am doing this even though I am convinced that I have in no way violated my parliamentary duties or the law,” he said. He went on to blast the CSU for even considering a vote on expelling him, writing that “to exclude a member of parliament on suspicion – in my case after a 31-year membership – before clarifying the facts… is incompatible with the constitutional rights of the MP.”

A corruption scandal involving a regional political figure wouldn’t usually make international headlines, but Sauter is at least the third elected official this month to resign in the face of similar accusations, all of them members of the CSU and CDU.

The multiple scandals came immediately before voters went to the polls in the states of Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate. The CDU suffered heavy losses in both states, a dark omen given their previous support for the party, especially in the run-up to a general election in September.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
×