Midlandic Parliament Launches Probe into Federal Marine and Fisheries Office Chair

The Midlandic Reichstag has agreed to open a parliamentary investigation into former BAMF Chairwoman Zoe Weisman over her supposed mismanagement of funds, which an independent report accuses she stole from the public purse during her tenure as the BAMF head.

The Midlandic Reichstag will be called into a special session on the request of Chancellor Jannik Schiele after an independent investigation of a missing CA 2 million in funds from the FMA budget concluded that Chairwoman Zoe Weisman abused her position to steal funds from the public purse: an accusation which has led to her removal as the Federal Marine and Fisheries Office, according to a spokesman for the Chancellor.

"This abuse of the public purse in unacceptable" claims Centre-Right Party chairman Oskar Kogler "The government must ensure the people have trust in their leaders - and to that end, there must be a thorough investigation and - of course - punishment of this blatant abuse of the public's finances".

This was an echo from a similar statement he made when the investigation first began, but in previous statements he called on the Chancellor to resign.

"I understand the people's anger" Chancellor Schiele said in front of Schloss Fredriksberg, the seat of the Chancellor "This government works for you, the people, and I will, as Reichskanzler, take every step I can to ensure the public finances are secure, and punish the officials responsible that abuse your taxpayer money."

This is a crisis for the Schiele Government, to be certain. The scandal first broke a month ago, when the Federal Auditing Office published their yearly report of government agencies, and claimed that nearly CA 2 million was missing or unaccounted for in the Federal Marine and Fisheries Office. The report was brought up in a General Debate of the Reichstag, where Chancellor Schiele claimed that he had confronted Chairwoman Weisman about the funds and said "there was not a clear answer given by Weisman as to where the spending went." This brought outrage from the Centre-Right Party, who angerly demanded Schiele resign, and the Freedom Party demanded a vote of no confidence be passed in the Schiele Government.

The Chancellor, in answer, said his investigation was not finished, and appointed an independent investigator, Matteo Bernhard, to look into the misused funds. After a week, Schiele reportedly met with Bernhard at Schloss Fredriksberg, and the next day he announced in the Reichstag that he had suspended Chairwoman Weisman from her position "while the investigation was ongoing", but refused to give the chamber a full detailed report of what the investigator had told him, claiming that he was protecting the integrity of the investigation keeping details private until a full investigation can be concluded.

This was something Centre-Right opposition leader Kogler called "cronyism, and corrupt behavior unfit for a sitting Reichskanzler."

The scandal impacted the coalition's approval ratings, with the Greens arguing they could withdraw from the coalition if no answers came forward in the coming weeks.

Finally, a month after the scandal initially broke, Chancellor Schiele announced the release of the full Matteo Bernhard Report, which alleged that Weisman had stolen the CA 2 million, and used it for what it called "various personal gifts and expenses, unfit for the public purse." Schiele immediately announced Weisman's firing, and requested a parliamentary special session to order a special parliamentary investigation into the matter - an investigation which could lead to criminal charges against Weisman, who since the scandal has remained out of the public eye.

The coalition government's junior partner's were quick to react.

Green Party leader Benjamin Müller claimed his party was "disgusted" by the conduct of Weisman, and admonished Schiele for not having "reacted quick enough in the investigation of Weisman." Though, ultimately, he did commend Schiele on his swift action after the report was published, and "The Reichskanzler's commitment to an independent review." This sentiment was shared by the Centre-Left Party as well.

"What Reichskanzler Schiele did was brave" claims ABO Political Analyst Samuel Koch. "to call an independent investigation of a member of your administration on your own accord is risky, that it could all come to blow back on his government in the public opinion polls."

This didn't happen, however.

Public opinion on the incident showed that nearly 88.9% of people believed that the Reichskanzler handled the situation appropriately. Only 21% of respondents believed that the Reichskanzler bore responsibility for Weisman's actions, while 68% of people felt that criticism of Schiele's actions around the investigation were unwarranted. Something that Centre-Right leader Kogler did not expect.

"Schiele's risky response actually paid off." claimed Koch. "His swift work at calling independent investigations, and his lack of interference in the report - and publishing it in full, while calling a special session for an investigation into the matter, made him look competent and principled, and shielded him from public blowback.

The parliamentary investigation will likely take an additional month, according to estimates, and will likely see Weisman have to testify publicly about the stolen or missing funds, something that could lead to criminal accusations. For now, however, the investigation continues, and Weisman's future remains uncertain.