The immense pressure is gone for a very short moment on Thursday evening.
The station bosses of the ARD houses set an example and agreed on an unusual step, which was then promptly reported in the 8 p.m. main edition of the "Tagesschau": The chairwoman of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (RBB), Patricia Schlesinger, steps in as ARD chair and thus as the most important representative of the public ARD community.
For weeks there have been unsolved allegations against the 61-year-old - from questionable consulting contracts, a large salary increase, food with "multipliers" at RBB's expense in Schlesinger's private apartment to a company car with massage seats. It is the presumption of innocence. However, the independent investigation will drag on for many more weeks - the pressure on ARD was too great.
With Schlesinger's withdrawal, an attempt is now being made to create distance for ARD from the complex case that is no longer allowing the broadcaster in Berlin and Brandenburg to rest. Damage to the image of ARD should be avoided. In other words, it must not continue to grow.
Hardly a day without new headlines
The ARD broadcasters are facing important months, they have to negotiate their future financing. The ARD chairmanship is a key position for this. Solidarity stopped when money came up. The other directors had not commented beforehand, so they wanted to limit the RBB affair to a regional level. That didn't work. Hardly a day went by without new headlines.
The pressure on Schlesinger himself remains high even after the resignation from the ARD line - and is increased again the day after: Because of the ongoing allegations and the pressure, the Broadcasting Council wants to meet on Monday for a special session. Broadcasting Council Chairwoman Friederike von Kirchbach told the German Press Agency on Friday as the reason: "Because of the ongoing pressure on director Schlesinger at the RBB leadership even after the withdrawal from the ARD leadership, we have to agree on whether the trust of the council in Schlesinger as RBB boss is still given."
The first state politicians in Brandenburg are also demanding their resignation from the RBB leadership. Federal politicians have spoken in a similar way. The Brandenburg parliamentary group leader of the co-governing CDU, Jan Redmann, summarizes the mood of some: "The question is why Ms. Schlesinger is no longer acceptable for the ARD - but for the RBB should continue to be acceptable."
A question of morality
The online medium "Business Insider" got the case rolling. The core question is whether Schlesinger was too lax in dealing with the possible collision of private and professional interests with the head of the board of directors - i.e. the body that is supposed to monitor the work of the station boss. The head of the administrative board, Wolf-Dieter Wolf, is also the head of the supervisory board at Messe Berlin - Schlesinger's husband received orders from the state-owned trade fair. Wolf and Schlesinger rejected the allegations. His position at the station is suspended during the investigation.
The public discussion of the case quickly acquired a moral component. The 61-year-old has been director of RBB since 2016, which is one of the smaller institutions in the ARD broadcasting network. Schlesinger's second term began last year and will actually last four years until 2026. In recent interviews, she made it clear that she wanted to continue in office while the allegations were being investigated. At the same time, she had shown herself open to speaking to the RBB board of directors again about the controversial increase in her salary.
The case will continue to simmer. The head of the main committee in the Brandenburg state parliament, Daniel Keller (SPD), is already planning a second special session for August 16 and this time wants the RBB boss to appear and explain himself to the committee.
The fact that she had stayed away from the first special session in mid-July had angered politicians across factions. In Berlin, there has not yet been a session on the case in the House of Representatives. The left, as a co-ruling party, put pressure on it days ago to deal with the case there as well.
The ARD houses know that they actually have to put their energy into other things. The registration phase for the planned budgets of the institutions with an independent finance commission begins in autumn. There are the financial and personnel shifts in the houses in order to create more offers on the Internet and to appeal to significantly more younger people. The reform of public service broadcasting is also underway, the federal states are adapting the state treaty and setting the course for more offers on the Internet. The second step will be about financing.
Schlesinger's withdrawal from the ARD leadership particularly affects two ARD houses: West German Broadcasting (WDR), the largest ARD house, has temporarily taken over the chairmanship. Director Tom Buhrow only passed the office on to the 61-year-old at the turn of the year. Before that, he had two difficult years to manage, during which time there was a dispute about increasing the broadcasting fee.
Open construction sites
Buhrow said on Friday: "Together with all directors, I will continue to push ahead with the strategic and structural tasks that have been initiated for the future of ARD and hand them over to the upcoming chairman - because ARD has no time to lose in its restructuring and it is and remains a joint task."
The Südwestrundfunk (SWR) must also prepare more quickly for the task of the ARD chairmanship. It is expected to start as early as 2023. Intendant Kai Gniffke has agreed. So far - according to the long-term plan - it was assumed that the second largest ARD station would not start until 2024. A chairmanship is usually prepared well in advance. Because in addition to the nationwide ARD affairs, one's own house has to be managed further. Large open construction sites are not helpful in a presidency.
Press release RBB Press release ARD with new chairman Buhrow Press release Greens
