Corona pandemic | Report on the mask affair now unredacted

Berlin. Ahead of special investigator Margaretha Sudhof's appearance in the Bundestag, criticism of former Health Minister Jens Spahn's (CDU) approach to procuring coronavirus masks is growing louder. Since Sudhof's report is no longer available only in partially redacted form, Green Party health expert Janosch Dahmen is making serious allegations on this basis: The unredacted report shows that Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) "deliberately redacted several passages – with the obvious aim of concealing the responsibility of Jens Spahn and other members of the CDU/CSU, who plundered the state and taxpayers during the pandemic."

Spahn himself reacted indignantly on ZDF: "Such whispering, such constructions as the Greens are currently making – I have only ever seen such methods from the AfD." These were "malicious insinuations," said the CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader.

Several media outlets had previously reported details of the unredacted special report. According to the "Süddeutsche Zeitung," passages showed how Spahn was personally involved in procurement decisions and how he had been warned of risks. Spahn commented: "Did we make mistakes? Yes, but we acted to the best of our knowledge and belief." He emphasized that he himself had not conducted any negotiations for the procurement of masks. "That was done by the specialist department, by law firms." The CDU politician told ZDF that there was "nothing new" in the special report.

Dahmen, in turn, emphasized: "The pandemic was across Europe. Everyone lacked masks. But nowhere else were billions of taxpayer money squandered on such an unprecedented scale – for masks that were overwhelmingly never delivered or were of such poor quality that they later had to be destroyed." According to the Green Party politician, Spahn lied – "not once, not with good intentions, not just in details, but repeatedly, systematically, and with the aim of protecting himself and the networks around him."

Sharp criticism also came from the Left Party. The CDU/CSU is apparently using every opportunity to cover up Spahn's personal involvement, said Ates Gürpinar, spokesperson for health economics for the Bundestag parliamentary group. The CDU/CSU is deliberately discrediting special investigator Sudhof and her report on the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG). "A committee of inquiry is urgently needed; Spahn's highly questionable interference, which the CDU/CSU-led BMG preferred to conceal, must be fully investigated, and he himself must be held accountable."

At the beginning of the 2020 pandemic, protective FFP2 masks were unavailable and then initially in short supply. The ongoing legal disputes over mask procurement still pose billions of euros in risks to the federal government. The Bundestag's Budget Committee plans to hold a "technical discussion" with special investigator Sudhof on Tuesday regarding her report. dpa/nd