Overview
- State chancellery chief Nathanael Liminski turned down the SPD’s demand for a special investigator, arguing Ina Scharrenbach’s ministry is already pursuing internal steps with outside moderation.
- The SPD said Hendrik Wüst shows no interest in an independent, transparent review and the caucus will now decide how to respond.
- Opposition members are weighing a parliamentary inquiry committee that could force the release of government files and put top officials under oath during the election season.
- A Spiegel investigation reported staff accounts of a climate of fear and health-harming conduct in Scharrenbach’s ministry; she denied specific accusations, acknowledged problems, and announced a staff assembly, a leadership retreat, and an anonymous complaint channel.
- IT.NRW chief Oliver Heidinger publicized a rumor that Scharrenbach wanted him to fail so she could remove him, which she rejected, highlighting risks for the state’s 3,800-employee digital agency that handles key projects.