The money is donated, party posts are relinquished, a multi-year management career is officially completed — and yet Dieter Reiter still finds no peace. The Government of Upper Bavaria, according to official publications in the German press, has opened disciplinary proceedings against the former head of Munich, which moves the situation from the plane of public disputes into a strict legal channel.
There is a reasonable suspicion that Reiter violated the norms of the legislation on public service by carrying out paid activities in the football club “Bayern”, parallel to the post of Mayor, without the mandatory approval from the city council. This was reported, with reference to an official representative of the inspecting authority, by the Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) Media Group and local newspapers of the Ippen Media publishing group.
Work on the Administrative and Advisory Boards Without Official Consent
In this case, the attention of lawyers is fully focused on Reiter’s role in the famous football club. The former Mayor of Munich, representing the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), first joined the administrative board of the organization, and from February began working on the advisory board as well. In both cases, the activity was carried out without the necessary permission from the city council, which directly contradicts the transparency rules for individuals occupying such high positions in the city leadership. For his work on the advisory board, he received a total of 90 thousand euros in fees from the club.
When this remarkable financial fact unexpectedly became public knowledge shortly before the municipal elections in March, the situation caused a wide public resonance among taxpayers and political opponents. Reiter left his posts at “Bayern” and promptly transferred the money received to social projects. However, these emergency actions were clearly not enough to minimize the political damage: in the election of the Lord Mayor, he overwhelmingly lost his seat to his opponent Dominik Krause from the “Greens” party. On the evening of March 22, immediately after the defeat in the second round, the politician announced his departure from political life, and immediately, in a form classic for authoritarian countries and banal, checked into a hospital with “heart problems”. This step delayed the transfer of authority to the new Mayor of the city by about a month.
Presumption of Innocence?! Is It Appropriate in Relation to Reiter?
The lawyer of the 68-year-old ex-head of the city was officially notified of the initiation of disciplinary proceedings and received a legal opportunity to present his clarifications. After the final and comprehensive clarification of all circumstances of the case, representatives of the government of Upper Bavaria intend to determine further steps. This proceeding is designed to establish whether a conscious official misconduct took place or whether it is a matter of an incorrect legal interpretation of the existing regulation.
“In the event of confirmation of official misconduct, the decision on a possible disciplinary sanction will be made on the basis of proper discretion, in particular, with compliance with the principle of proportionality,” the broadcaster BR cited a quote from the statement of the official authority.
Until the completion of all checks regarding the politician, the presumption of innocence applies to the full extent, just as for any resident of the EU. Reiter himself, according to information from Ippen Media, refused to comment on this investigation. Information about what happened appeared a few days before the municipal elections in Munich and is viewed by analysts as one of the key factors that determined the outcome of the voting for the post of head of the city.
Consequences for the Political System of Bavaria
This incident clearly demonstrates how strictly the compliance with ethical and legal norms by top officials is controlled in a modern democratic society. Regardless of the past merits of the ex-head of the city, the law requires absolute transparency in the interaction of politicians with big business and sports corporations. The initiated disciplinary proceedings will become an important precedent for the entire region, clearly outlining the boundaries of the permissible for top-level public servants and returning public trust to the institutions of power. After all, next in line is our Prime Minister or the Famous food blogger — Markus Söder.
