After the Schlesinger scandal, Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki (FDP) called for a “salary brake” of 150,000 euros in public broadcasting.
Against the background of waste scandals in the public service broadcasters, Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki (FDP) has suggested a “salary brake” for top earners. In an interview with “Schuler! Ask what is,” said Kubicki: “It cannot be that the head of the ARD earns significantly more than the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.” The head of government bears more responsibility in a way that is not comparable.
Kubicki with a view to the RBB scandal: “It was nice to see that those at the top of public broadcasters apparently believe that this is a self-service shop because the controls didn’t work. It’s about time that the courts of auditors can march through there completely. On the other hand, they regularly fight back. But there will be changes at the legal level to prevent such excesses as with the RBB, as with all public broadcasters.
Specifically, Kubicki demanded: “We are currently in the process of saying to companies that we are helping in the energy and electricity price crisis: you must no longer pay out bonuses or dividends. In the case of public employees, one could say: because you are provided with public funds, we will impose a salary cap. Then you can’t earn more than 150,000 euros or whatever. And anyone who says that’s not enough for them has to look elsewhere.”
He noted the waste scandals “with secret joy, because I know a lot of programs that politicians do, the diets are too high, the pensions are too high, the seats are too nice … I think it’s a bit daring that public service media, where pensions are exorbitantly good, complain that pensions in the public sector or for members of parliament are too high. Compared to what they’re getting, that’s a bargain.”
The Vice President of the Bundestag also warns against dramatizing the supposed coup d’etat by Reich citizens and said Kubicki: “One must not play down, but one must not dramatize either. When I read about this Mickey Mouse crew grappling with the question of who should run the canteen after a successful coup d’état, I knew I didn’t have to think about it any further.”
Kubicki continues: “If we give the impression that 55 or 100 people in Germany are able to unhinge our system, then we have a completely different problem in society.”
