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Bribery of MP’s and Banana Republic
It is commonly believed that corruption is endemic in African banana republics. Germany is considered to be
clean. A prejudice? Is the Federal Republic also a Banana Republic, in which the politicians do everything to
eat as many bananas as possible?
If one considers how assiduously politicians resist criminal liability for corruption, the answer is easy: Yes! As
early as 2003, Germany signed the UN Convention against corruption - but has so far done nothing to implement this
in national law. Germany is internationally isolated. The only reason: Other than government officials - who are
subject to strict rules - politicians insist on the right of corruption without criminal accountability. The
Alliance for Democracy has already reported on this issue (see Das Deutsche Desaster (The German Disaster),
p. 54 und
Petition against corruption).
After many years, Germany is still struggling towards a
“cosmetic” reform.
The Grand Coalition proposes a new version of the relevant § 108e StGB. But even the new version is to include
a so-called concrete unjust agreement. “I will give you € 100,000 if you vote in favour of this law”. So that
money changes hands, and the voting behaviour of a Member of Parliament can be investigated and established by
the Public Prosecutor’s Office. On the other hand, a concrete unjust agreement will never be able to be proven
in criminal proceedings, because the people involved maintain the necessary discretion (no witnesses, no written
documents). The situation remains unchanged: Political corruption actually remains unpunishable.
The politicians continue to enjoy their bananas. The Alliance for Democracy wishes them “bon appétit”, and would
like to combine this with a warning: Too many bananas leads to painful constipation. As a purgative, we recommend
final, genuine reform: namely the same strict rules for politicians as have always applied for other government
officials.
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