A German politician, Jens Spahn, is facing increasing pressure in a scandal surrounding the procurement of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is according to reports from SZ, NDR and WDR, which have obtained further extracts from the previously confidential report of special investigator Margarethe Sudhof, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), who has been investigating the events in the Ministry during the pandemic.
The report suggests that Spahn’s “lacking economic understanding” and “political ambition” ultimately led to the state not being handled as a team, but rather as “I”. It is alleged that Spahn acted independently and “notably against the advice of his departmental experts” on several occasions during the pandemic. The experts had recommended that the procurement of masks be coordinated by the Interior Ministry, as had been decided by the Corona Crisis Staff on March 5, 2020. However, Spahn had decided to “want to master the procurement alone” and had ordered the Health Ministry, which he led, to enter the procurement process on its own.
“This is the drama that unfolded in the billions” concludes Sudhof, a jurist who previously served as a state secretary in the Defence Ministry for the SPD. The Federal Ministry of Health had purchased masks worth nearly six billion euros, of which around two-thirds were never used, leaving behind “substantial costs and risks” that still have an impact today.
Internal criticism was not considered as a “red flag” but, instead, Spahn “intervened personally again and again”. It is noted in a footnote that this often happened from the MdB-account at the German Bundestag, which, however, was not archived, making many events and decisions difficult to fully trace.
Jens Spahn, through a spokesperson, has stated that he took unconventional measures during the crisis because the established procurement methods “did not work”. Margarethe Sudhof is accused by Spahn of not only addressing factual issues but also making extensive personal value judgments. The CDU/CSU faction has come to Spahn’s defense, criticizing Sudhof’s report as “party-politically motivated”. Sudhof has declined to comment on Spahn’s accusations, as requested by the media.