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Thursday 17 December 2020
Guttenberg reloaded
“I enjoy this here”
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg appears as a witness before the Wirecard investigation committee. It is his first official appearance in political Berlin since his resignation in March 2011. It is as if Guttenberg has never been absent.
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg strode past the cameramen who have long waited for this moment and now have a few seconds to film it. Soon after, he takes a seat in the chair reserved for witnesses in the Wirecard investigation committee of the Bundestag. It is the first time since his resignation as Federal Defense Minister in March 2011 that the former CSU star has officially reappeared in political Berlin. It’s like Guttenberg never left.
His attire and demeanor, as well as his sometimes tough offensive defensive strategy, are clearly reminiscent of the politician who polarized him more than a decade ago, some celebrating him as a pop star and condemning others as a mixer. Guttenberg is in a good mood, unshaven, wearing a jacket without a tie and dark glasses. His hair is not gelled. He is personable and patient, only to be arrogant and annoyed soon after. In any case, it seems to feel at home being in the center or better: sitting. Even if he says it wryly, two of his sentences should be pretty close to the truth: “I’m enjoying here with you. But before Christmas there is another activity.”
“We also believed in the fairy tale”
His survey of how he and his company Spitzberg Partners helped the then-Dax Wirecard group to establish a foothold in China took more than five hours. Sometimes Guttenberg answers MPs’ questions upright, and then leans back loosely and casually back in his chair, like he’s the boss at a board meeting. The witness speaks words in American-style English. Guttenberg describes himself as the victim of a “fraud of the century”: “Obviously, we were fraudulently misled.” He does not admit personal guilt. “We also believed in the fairy tale.”
You can see that the 49-year-old man has prepared well. It does not avoid a single question. From time to time he shows parliamentary investigators where the limits of his willingness to provide information are: “That has no place here in the inquiry committee,” he once said. Or also: “I will not give you any information about my private daily life.” Guttenberg also does not have to do this if the questions touch on areas that have nothing to do with the investigation of the Wirecard scandal.
The 49-year-old does not stumble even once, although MPs try to dupe him. When his lawyer Christian Schertz wants to speak for him, Guttenberg interrupts him: “I answer myself, that’s no problem” and claps the lawyer on the shoulder as if he were an intern. Schertz is one of the best lawyers in Germany, and his clients include numerous prominent clients such as Sibel Kekilli, Günther Jauch and Herbert Grönemeyer.
Eloquence and wit
Over and over again flashes what made Guttenberg a star of politics: eloquence and charm combined with wit. He certifies that Green MP Lisa Paus has asked a “very good” question. “The others were excellent too,” Guttenberg added immediately, delighted with his joke. The witness repeatedly emphasizes that Spitzberg Partners is not a lobbying company. It’s like describing a “paint company that occasionally grinds a door like carpentry.” Reject any inquiries in this direction at 99 percent, Guttenberg stresses, only to later explain that his engagement with Wirecard in China was a lot of lobbying. “I don’t see myself as a lobbyist, and I also understand that this can be described as lobbying.” The general rule of thumb is: “If we had known that Wirecard’s business model is based on fraud, we would not have informed this company of Dax.”
Guttenberg takes the opportunity to confidently advertise his company. When Fabio De Masi, who is part of the committee on the left, holds the witness in one respect, “You could have put in an apprentice,” the former minister responds: “I think we are a little better there.” As always, Guttenberg gives the impression of being convinced of himself. But are MPs also convinced by your comments about your contribution to the Wirecard scandal and your meeting with Angela Merkel in September 2019?
“It does not convince me”
SPD MP Jens Zimmermann calls Guttenberg’s account of his conversation with the chancellor “frankly strange.” Guttenberg claims to have talked to Merkel about Wirecard for only “two or three minutes,” and that was more or less by chance. The conversation ended without a firm commitment from the head of government to help him and his client Wirecard. Zimmermann exchanges blows with the witness, who can also be described as strange. In particular, Guttenberg’s statement that lobbying work, if at all, “in doubt pro bono,” that is, with little or no pay, stirs astonishment.
Guttenberg protested the suspicion, although not clearly expressed, of permanently using possible contacts with the Chancellery or federal ministries for lobbying work such as Wirecard. “I understand that you want to do it politically,” says the former politician to his former colleagues. If he, Guttenberg, really took advantage of the “relationship of trust with the Federal Chancellor” in the way he is charged, “he would call prices” that would be much higher than “what we are talking about here.” Zimmermann found the comments “totally funny.” Because: “Now you are defending yourself against things that I am not accusing you of.” And by the way: “I’m not convinced.”
