A BR24 investigation showed that AfD deputies from Bavaria also hired relatives or close party colleagues — possibly in violation of internal rules.
Questions about controversial labor relations have now touched the AfD in Bavaria as well. According to BR24 information, Bavarian deputies from this party hired partners or colleagues from the party board, which in some cases contradicted internal party regulations.
Ebner-Steiner employee facilitated family employment
In the Bavarian Landtag, a case that caused questions within the faction became public. According to BR, the AfD faction hired the mother of a close employee of the faction leader Katrin Ebner-Steiner. When the life partner of this employee was also hired by the faction six months ago, criticism arose within the team. Subsequently, the labor relations with the employee’s mother were terminated.
Contrary to party statutes: Landtag positions for board members from Lower Bavaria
Disputes in the leadership circles of the Bavarian AfD are also caused by the hiring of Armin Weidinger. He is an assessor on the district board of the AfD Lower Bavaria and works in the office of Landtag deputy Johann Müller. At the same time, Müller is not only his boss but also a colleague on the district board, holding the post of deputy chairman there. Such a configuration violates the party’s state statutes. Paragraph 19 of the document states: A deputy of the Bundestag, Landtag, or European Parliament and an employee hired by them cannot simultaneously be part of the same district or state board. This means that deputies are prohibited from hiring members of the district or state board of which they themselves are members.
According to the investigation results, other members of the Lower Bavaria district board are also employed in the Landtag faction. Incidentally, the chairman of this branch is the faction leader Ebner-Steiner.
Dispute over employees from Lower Bavaria transferred to the federal arbitration court
The situation with Weidinger led to an internal legal conflict, as confirmed by documents available to BR. The Bavarian state board saw Weidinger‘s work as a consultant for deputy Müller as a violation of the statutes and filed a complaint with the state arbitration court. The latter rejected the application due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. At the end of November, the state board appealed to the federal arbitration court of the party in Stuttgart. The intra-party proceedings continue. Deputy Müller did not respond to a request from BR.
Bystron’s partner employed by a faction colleague
The Munich Member of the European Parliament Petr Bystron, in turn, took care of a job for his partner. The 53-year-old politician was previously a member of the Bundestag from 2017 to 2024. He has repeatedly come to the attention of the judiciary; investigations are being conducted against him, including on suspicion of money laundering and bribery. In early February, the European Parliament again stripped Bystron of immunity, this time in connection with a fraud charge. As reported by a representative of the prosecutor general’s office, the politician allegedly paid for the services of a private cleaner from funds intended for maintaining the staff in the Bundestag. Bystron himself has not yet commented on the specific allegations.
It became known that after moving from Berlin to Brussels, his partner Magdalena B. found a new job in the office of Bystron‘s faction colleague Arno Bauzemer. Bauzemer, like Bystron, has been a Member of the European Parliament since 2024. In a response to a request from BR24, Bystron explained that for the first months in Brussels, B. worked even for him. He published this information on the parliament’s page. In the European Parliament, stricter rules apply in this regard than in the Bundestag or the Bavarian Landtag: every deputy is obliged to publicly name their employees. Regarding the qualification of his partner, Bystron wrote: She worked for almost two legislative periods as an office manager in the German Bundestag and thus belongs to the group of employees with the greatest professional experience.
Cross-employment in Bavaria is impossible
In the Bavarian Landtag, deputies would not have the opportunity to hire their own partner through a faction colleague. After the relatives’ case in 2013, the Bavarian law on deputies was tightened.
Hiring is not illegal but raises questions
At the European Union and federal levels, such prohibitions are absent. There, life partners and relatives of deputies can be employed by their faction colleagues. In connection with the discussions around the AfD, Green party Bundestag deputy Irene Mihalic is considering the possibility of tightening the rules following the Bavarian model.Critics accuse the AfD of violating its own standards by hiring family members and close party colleagues. After all, according to program documents, the AfD explicitly rejects nepotism, clanism, and structures conducive to corruption.
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