The Saxon state parliament will vote on Friday (10.00 a.m.) at a special session on the establishment of a committee of inquiry into funding practices at the Ministry of Social Affairs. The committee was set up at the instigation of the AfD parliamentary group. The background to this is a special report by the State Court of Auditors. It had criticized the implementation of a funding guideline for the integration of refugees and attested that the ministry had acted unlawfully to an "extraordinary extent". The auditors did not find any evidence of personal misconduct on the part of Minister Petra Köpping (SPD). The audit focused on funding from 2016 to 2019.
The AfD now wants to use the U Committee to investigate responsibilities. The ministry had already reacted and changed the funding guidelines. In addition, the state secretary responsible, Sebastian Vogel, was retired. According to the constitution, the state parliament must set up a committee of inquiry if one fifth of the members are in favor of it. The AfD has the required number of votes due to the strength of its parliamentary group. If the committee of inquiry is set up on Friday, the members of the committee must also be appointed.
