The leader of Germany's opposition Christian Democrats (CDU), Dr Wolfgang Schauble, yesterday rejected calls for his resignation following his admission that he accepted a DM100,000 (£40,000) cash donation from a fugitive arms dealer.
Dr Schauble told reporters in Berlin that he had behaved properly by handing the money to his party's treasurer and that there was no reason why he should not keep his job. "I have nothing to hide," he said.
Dr Schauble claims that, immediately after he received the money from Mr Karl-Heinz Schreiber, a former arms dealer whose extradition from Canada the German authorities are seeking, he gave it to Ms Brigitte Baumeister, then the CDU's treasurer.
Ms Baumeister contacted Mr Schreiber and asked if he would like a receipt for the money. He replied that he required no receipt and did not wish to be identified as a donor to party funds.
Under German law, political donations above DM20,000 (£8,000) must be registered in party accounts and their donors must be identified. Ms Baumeister claims that she asked her predecessor as treasurer, Mr Walther Leisler Kiep, for advice on what to do about the donation.
According to Ms Baumeister's account, Mr Kiep took the money and promised to "sort the matter out" and, a year later, the sum appeared in party accounts as "other income".
Mr Kiep yesterday denied that he had taken the money and insisted that Ms Baumeister never discussed the matter with him.
Social Democrats and Greens have called on Dr Schauble to resign as CDU leader, claiming that he shares responsibility for the system of illegal party funding presided over by his predecessor, Dr Helmut Kohl.
Some of Dr Schauble's colleagues have expressed unease over the length of time it has taken their leader to admit accepting the donation.
Dr Kohl has denied that he is encouraging Mr Jurgen Ruttgers, a former cabinet minister, to challenge Dr Schauble for the leadership at the CDU's annual conference in April. But many party activists, who are annoyed by what they perceive as their leader's lack of loyalty to the former chancellor, are determined to engineer a change at the top.
A newspaper yesterday claimed that Dr Kohl was in close contact with Mr Schreiber, who has threatened to reveal more information damaging to the CDU.
Mr Schreiber, who is fighting Germany's attempt to extradite him on tax evasion charges, said: "It is not that government support is not sometimes necessary for a project. If you support a political movement or group that you like anyway, then you're a respected friend and partner there.
"If you have a request from time to time, they will - within limits - do what is necessary. It's not that politicians are not there to promote business in the interests of the country and securing jobs," he said.
