In the alleged funding scandal involving the Saxon Ministry of Social Affairs, an expert clearly contradicts the opinion of the State Court of Audit. According to the expert, the Court of Audit exceeded its authority when it accused the ministry of violating the neutrality requirement. In the opinion of expert Friedhelm Hufen, the auditors acted excessively. They were not authorized by the legislator to issue statements on the neutrality requirement and equal opportunities for political parties. Hufen, a constitutional law expert from Mainz, had prepared the report on behalf of several foundations active in the field of democracy work.
Political education and democracy work is never "neutral"
Friedhelm Hufen, Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, was asked by the Cellex Foundation and other foundations to provide an expert opinion. His verdict was clear. "The political proximity of a ministry whose very title is geared towards social issues and social cohesion to social associations with the same goals is not a violation of the neutrality requirement, but is in fact inherent to the matter," was a key statement. Political education and democracy work are always directed towards ethical values and constitutional goals and are therefore never "neutral".
"The public funding of private initiatives does not mean that their statements become those of the state. The private sponsors are neither an instrument nor a 'mouthpiece' of the ministry and are also not bound to the same extent by a neutrality requirement - however defined - and the equal opportunities of the parties," it continued.
