revelations of the “Trier People’s Friend” and the “Rhine newspaper” are intended to prove that today’s Interior State Secretary Daniel Stich received seven years of special leave from the SPD-led Interior Ministry. During this time, Stich worked as managing director and general secretary for the Social Democrats, but his pension rights as a civil servant still remained.

It is not the first case in which the SPD government in Rhineland-Palatinate has assigned top officials to party work with special leave. According to “Bild”, an Interior Ministry official has also been on leave with full pension entitlements since 2024. She is now supporting Prime Minister Alexander Schweitzer in the election campaign.

SPD rejects criticism – CDU sees “abuse of power”

The case has been making headlines since January. At that time, the Mainz public prosecutor’s office confirmed to the “SWR” that preliminary investigations had been initiated in connection with controversial special leave for top officials. However, these were stopped at the beginning of March because there was no initial suspicion of criminal behavior.

From the perspective of the SPD and Schweitzer, the events are not reprehensible; similar cases would occur again and again across the country. However, the CDU, rival of the SPD in the fight for the post of prime minister in Rhineland-Palatinate, sees the Social Democrats’ actions as an abuse of power. General Secretary Johannes Steiniger told “Bild”: “The SPD has been using all state resources to maintain its own power for years. Government officials are working for the SPD. After 35 years, the country has clearly become an SPD self-service shop.”

CDU with a narrow lead in surveys before the state elections

The constitutional lawyer Ulrich Battis also sharply criticized the SPD’s special leave practice in the SWR. This is a “flagrant violation” of the parties’ duty of neutrality. According to Battis, the events were illegal.

Three days before the state elections in Rhineland-Palatinate, the CDU and the SPD are in a neck-and-neck race. However, the Christian Democrats are heading into election Sunday with a slight increase in polls. In the new ZDF political barometer from Thursday evening, the CDU is at 29 percent, the SPD is two points behind at 27. The third strongest force would be the AfD with 19 percent. This is followed by the Greens (nine percent) and the Left (five percent). With 4.5 percent, the Free Voters would miss out on entering the Mainz state parliament.