Munich/Nuremberg (dpa/lby) - Before the possible start of a committee of inquiry in the state parliament to clarify open questions about the Nuremberg Museum of the Future, there is a dispute about the catalog of questions. The CSU does not want to allow questions about party donations from the property owner to the governing party, said the SPD faction leader in the state parliament, Florian von Brunn, the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" (Saturday). According to the newspaper's article, von Brunn is even considering filing a lawsuit with the Bavarian Constitutional Court.
The committee of inquiry was initiated by the opposition parties SPD, FDP and Greens. It could be decided in the state parliament in the coming week. The committee should also deal with the role of Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU). Söder was Bavarian Minister of Finance at the time the decision was made about the real estate business in his hometown of Nuremberg. According to the Court of Auditors, his ministry was involved in the award at the time. However, the Ministry of Science would have been more responsible for the content. The future museum is often referred to as a prestige project of Söder.
Schmelzer is the owner of the property in Nuremberg's Augustinerhof and its landlord. The branch of the Deutsches Museum Munich was opened there in September 2021. The Bavarian Supreme Court of Auditors determined in an expert opinion that the rental agreement is to be classified as "landlord-friendly" and that the overall rental costs are to be regarded as "high".
Schmelzer said he had made party donations to the CSU. However, both Schmelzer and the CSU ruled out a connection with the bid for the rental property in Nuremberg. According to the "Süddeutsche Zeitung", the draft of the questionnaire mentions party donations totaling 90,500 euros, which one of Schmelzer's companies gave to the CSU in 2018 and 2019. The opposition wanted to know when exactly these donations went to which party branch and whether there were other previously unknown donations from Schmelzer's environment.
