German coalition considers social media rules for parliamentary groups

Following criticism from the Federal Audit Office over the alleged misuse of taxpayers’ money for online activities by parliamentary groups, Germany’s governing parties are calling for clear legal guidelines.

The parliamentary groups of the current governing coalition of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Greens and the liberal FDP are pushing for a solid legal framework to clarify the use of social media by parliamentary groups in the German Bundestag. The aim is to ensure the transparent and lawful use of taxpayers’ money allocated to these groups.

“We want to create a legally secure basis for the public relations work of the parliamentary groups from the centre of parliament,” the parliamentary groups told dpa on Thursday. They aim to work with the greatest opposition party, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (EPP).

On Wednesday, Germany’s Federal Court of Auditors called for establishing clear rules for the social media representation of parliamentary groups, criticising them for using taxpayers’ money for the wrong purpose.

“When using social media, the parliamentary groups in the German Bundestag are also using federal funds for the wrong purpose and, therefore, in contravention of the rules,” said Kay Scheller, president of the Court of Auditors.

He explained that “the current legal framework for the parliamentary groups’ public relations work favours this” and stressed the need for reform.

With social media playing an increasingly important role in political outreach, there are concerns about the €140 million allocated to political groups, an increasing proportion of which is spent on social media activity.

An investigation by the Court of Auditors found that a number of posts were in breach of the guidelines and had turned into unauthorised political campaigning, especially during election periods.

The audit showed that in the run-up to the federal elections in 2021 “most of the posts were not permitted because they did not did not only provide information about the activities of the political groups or even contained direct party or election advertising.”

The parliamentary groups of the ruling three-party coalition are now planning to define the communication frame between the groups and the public, including social media, stating that “a clear distinction from unauthorised party advertising is crucial in election campaigns.”

“It is clear that political groups are not allowed to engage in party work,” they said.

“If the public funds earmarked for this purpose are misused, there must be a crystal-clear legal basis for reclaiming them quickly,” commented Johannes Fechner (SPD), co-rapporteur for the to-be-revised law on parliamentary representatives.

Parallels can be drawn with the European Parliament, as only the European party families and the national parties are allowed to campaign for the European elections. The parliamentary groups themselves, which bring together several national parties, cannot use their public funds for any activities related to the election campaign.

(Kjeld Neubert | Euractiv.de)

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