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The Geneva Council of State has announced his resignation. “I have decided to resign my mandate,” he told a news conference. He also said that he would be a candidate for his own successor.
The former FDP politician was tough on his counterparts: Pierre Maudet.
Photo: Jean-Christophe Bott (Keystone)
Pierre Maudet justified his resignation with the decision of his government colleagues, who had withdrawn his last area of responsibility, the Department of Economic Development, the day before. The official resignation will take place early next week.
The former FDP politician was tough on his counterparts. The commission’s decision is a particular problem at the institutional level, he criticized. The body does not have the legitimacy to completely disempower a counterpart chosen by the people, as is happening here. The move, incomprehensible to him, was a conscious personal attack, another targeted humiliation, and another attempt to sideline him.
Absences in the department
The reason for the greater disempowerment of the already ill Maudet is the conclusions of an external interim report. This was drawn up on behalf of the cantonal staff office after absences had accumulated in the Maudet department in the Directorate of Economic Development, Research and Innovation.
An independent external expert listened to the vast majority of employees and concluded that there were organizational, managerial and interpersonal problems while questioning Maudet.
Immediate steps must be taken to protect the health and safety of employees, according to the report. It was also emphasized that the physical and mental health of the executive staff and of certain persons of the General Secretariat of Maudet was no longer guaranteed.
“Right to be heard violated”
In the magistrate’s opinion, this “unacceptable and unjustified” interim report is only a “pretext” to further discredit him. You have no problem with your apartment being examined, but it must be done according to the rules of the art. In particular, he criticized the violation of his right to be heard. There were not an abnormally high number of absences from his department.
Maudet admitted that the employees reporting to him may have been under pressure lately, particularly due to the coronavirus crisis. “Since March I have asked my employees for more, increased work intensity, and pushed senior officials out of their comfort zone,” Maudet said.
However, it was justified by taking these measures for the benefit of society. This was necessary so that in the crisis, for example, the beneficiaries received their financial support on time.
Luxury trip to the desert
The Maudet affair has preoccupied Geneva politicians for about two years. The Geneva Public Ministry was investigating the Council of State on suspicion of exploitation. In early summer, the prosecutor announced his intention to bring the magistrate to justice.
The main indictment is a luxury trip to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. In 2015, the Emirati royal family donated to the Maudet family and the rest of the entourage a business class flight, a stay in a luxury hotel and a visit to a Formula One race.
There were also investigations into alleged illegal donations. Maudet is said to have accepted the benefits of the Manotel Geneva hotel group.
In the course of the affair, the Council of State was gradually overthrown by his government colleagues. In autumn 2018, the then security director had to give up the regional council and control of the police and the airport.
In early July, the Geneva-based FDP excluded Maudet from its ranks. The longtime hope of the Liberals and the 2017 Federal Council candidate had steadfastly refused to leave the party. The party’s president, Petra Gössi, had repeatedly called for his resignation.
