Concrete proposals from the Union aim to curb nepotism in Members of the Bundestag’s offices. Hendrik Hoppenstedt, the CDU’s parliamentary management director, told POLITICO that relatives of an MP should no longer be employed in other MPs’ offices or funded by the employee allowance. He also added that MPs must not hire anyone with whom they live, share a relationship, or who stands up for them.
Hoppenstedt cited the regulation in the Bavarian state parliament as a model worth emulating, urging the law to explicitly ban cross‑employment. He warned that “the child should not be discarded with the bath” meaning the Union wants moderate reforms to Parliament’s law and is currently discussing them with the SPD. He called the unwarranted nepotism of the AfD an unimaginable practice that requires a firm response.
Nonetheless, he acknowledged that tightening the MPs’ law cannot fully prevent the abuse of the system. “Ultimately, what matters is whether a Bundestag member has the necessary decency” he said.