From Hildburg Bruns
Showdown in the Interior Senate: Sports State Secretary Nicola Böcker-Giannini (48, SPD) landed a letter of resignation from Interior Senator Iris Spranger (62, SPD) on the table. She will be released on October 17th! Spranger threatened to file a criminal complaint if her sports expert reported this publicly, according to her lawyer.
The two top women have been in a clinch for months. Both politicians blame each other. The sports expert complained about Spranger’s impossible treatment of people, the Interior Senator complained about her deputy’s uncoordinated solo actions. However, professional criticism was rarely heard from the sports associations.
Böcker-Giannini hired a lawyer who knows the business well and was a member of the Senate until the repeat election.
Ralf Kleindiek (58) to the BZ: “On Friday afternoon, Senator Spranger banned my client in writing from conducting official business and had all access to the IT system of the Senate Interior Administration blocked.”
The Tagesspiegel first reported on the intended temporary retirement.
Should be fired: Nicola Böcker-Giannini (48), Berlin State Secretary for Sport Photo: picture alliance/dpa
The whole process could now be dangerous for Spranger herself: Böcker-Giannini had previously had the support of the two SPD leaders Raed Saleh (46) and Franziska Giffey (45) – and she had also initiated the GroKo campaign in her party.
The lawyer: “On behalf of my client, I contacted the head of the Senate Chancellery to request that the ban on conducting official business be withdrawn. An answer to this is still pending. My client will not accept that her personal and professional integrity is compromised by the actions of Interior Senator Spranger.“
Ultimately, the ball is now in the court of CDU leader Kai Wegner (51), who has so far always demonstratively sought solidarity with his more conservative SPD Interior Senator Spranger on many issues.
It was only in February that a personal rift between Spranger and her then Interior State Secretary led to the temporary retirement of Torsten Akmann (58). He continued to receive his salary of 10,800 euros gross as a transitional allowance for three months – and then an early retirement salary of 7,750 euros gross per month.