Köpping rejects allegations of nepotism

Saxony's Social Affairs Minister Petra Köpping (SPD) has clearly rejected accusations in connection with the allocation of funding for the integration of refugees. The AfD had accused her department of nepotism and corruption and spoken of "clan structures". Party-political and personal interests had played no role in funding procedures, Köpping said Thursday in a special session of the state parliament. Nobody in her house had wanted to issue unlawful decisions. The Attorney General's Office had found no evidence of criminal conduct.

The accusations were triggered by an audit report of the State Audit Office, which, however, was not yet ready and reached the public in the draft stage. The Court of Auditors had examined the execution of the guideline "Integrative measures" in the years 2016 to 2019 and had come to the conclusion that there had been a "multitude of indications of non-integrative behavior" in the allocation of funds and that "corruption-prone structures" had formed there. Köpping then announced changes to the award guidelines. On Wednesday, she also parted ways with her state secretary Sebastian Vogel.

In her speech in the state parliament, Köpping also addressed the refugee crisis, which reached its peak in 2016. At that time, she said, it had not been possible to ensure from the outset that administrative processes had run properly and legally cleanly in all aspects, due to the turbulent times, staffing deficits and the novelty of the funding. That pained her greatly, she said. "We did the right thing. But we have not always done it right."

The AfD had requested the special session and had to face the reproach from all factions to make an unknown audit report the basis of accusations. AfD faction leader Jörg Urban called on Köpping to show corruption the red card, otherwise she herself would be unacceptable.

Sören Voigt (CDU) accused the AfD of trying to stir up trouble. "Once again, the AfD throws stones into the water and see what waves they make." Green Party politician Valentin Lippmann saw the AfD's behavior as a "bizarre spectacle." Under the guise of supposed transparency, he said, the AfD, of all parties, allegedly wants to avert damage to the rule of law and democracy. Nevertheless, the parliamentary groups of CDU, Greens, Left and SPD also demanded clarification on the criticisms of the Court of Auditors.