Armin Laschet

The destruction of treehouses and evacuation of activists in Hambach Forest were justified on fire safety grounds. A recorded statement by Laschet referring to the need for a legal basis or 'pretext' fuelled suspicions that the grounds had been contrived. An administrative court initially ruled the operation unlawful.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

The North Rhine-Westphalia Landtag conducted a parliamentary inquiry into the authorities' preparedness and response during the deadly floods. Laschet, then Minister-President, was questioned about his role in crisis management.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

No legal proceedings

Attribution

Political responsibility

Person targeted by the proceedings

Landtag de NRW

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted

Laschet acknowledged that a fee of approximately 4 000 euros relating to his book had been donated but had not been correctly treated for tax purposes, although the donation had been deducted. He requested a review and subsequently corrected the situation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

The Laschet government faced strong criticism for supporting the commissioning of the Datteln IV coal-fired power station and continued lignite mining around Garzweiler, decisions that environmentalists considered incompatible with climate targets.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

No legal proceedings

Attribution

Political responsibility

Laschet secured the Union's nomination for chancellor after a prolonged confrontation with Markus Söder. Although the CDU's governing bodies supported him, numerous polls and part of the party grassroots strongly preferred Söder, triggering an internal legitimacy crisis.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

No legal proceedings

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Footage showed Laschet laughing in the background while President Steinmeier addressed flood victims. The incident provoked national outrage and seriously damaged his campaign.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

No legal proceedings

Attribution

Directly implicated

Laschet acknowledged that at least one passage in his book had reproduced material from a source without proper attribution and apologised. Further similarities were subsequently examined publicly, fuelling another controversy over his credibility.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

No legal proceedings

Attribution

Directly implicated

With Laschet as its chancellor candidate, the Union recorded its worst federal election result in its history at the time, approximately 24,1 %. After weeks of criticism, Laschet agreed to initiate a renewal of the CDU leadership.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

No legal proceedings

Attribution

Direct responsibility

During the pandemic, Laschet's son Joe introduced his father to textile company van Laack, which subsequently secured a major contract for protective gowns. The opposition raised concerns about possible favouritism and demanded explanations.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

No legal proceedings

Attribution

Institutional responsibility

The book published under Armin Laschet's name while he was Integration Minister was written with assistance from his ministry's staff. A document also showed that a staff member had helped promote it among CDU organisations, fuelling allegations of blurring government duties and personal political activity.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

No legal proceedings

Attribution

Political responsibility

Examination papers from one of Laschet's seminars at RWTH Aachen went missing. He reconstructed the grades from his own notes, but more grades were awarded than the number of students who had actually sat the examination. The controversy led to the end of his teaching activities.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated