"As an anti-Barschel, Engholm wanted to do politics with his distance from politics, wanted to go down in the history books as the statesman who remained human. Now he is only human." This is how the "Spiegel" judged on May 10, 1993 about the SPD politician Björn Engholm, who a week earlier had resigned as Minister President of Schleswig-Holstein as well as SPD Chairman and candidate for Chancellor. The quote reflects how most media reacted to the resignation of the social democratic hopeful:they criticized the politician for his obvious lie, but at the same time showed respect for the man Engholm.
Dirt under the white waistcoat
Reiner Pfeiffer, Barschel's "man for the rough stuff", is said to have received tens of thousands of DM from Günther Jansen (SPD).Why does the man, who has long been considered one of the few top German politicians with a clean slate, suddenly have to resign? Engholm stumbles over a false testimony before the Barschel investigative committee from 1987. In March 1993, a chain of events and confessions begins that puts the Kiel head of state under pressure. His party confidante Klaus Nilius admits that he did not tell the truth before the investigative committee in 1987. The "Stern" reports on payments from the ranks of the SPD to the former Barschel adviser Reiner Pfeiffer. Social Affairs Minister Günther Jansen then admits having paid around 50,000 DM to Pfeiffer and has to vacate his post on March 23rd.
The so-called drawer affair again raises the question of what the North SPD and especially Engholm knew about Reiner Pfeiffer's activities. In addition, a new suspicion arises:was the money from Jansen's drawer hush money? Did Pfeiffer act as a double agent for the CDU on the one hand and the SPD on the other?
Existential borderline situation
On May 3, 1993, Engholm appeared before the press in Bonn. It is now clear that he knew about Barschel's machinations by September 7, 1987 at the latest, a week before the elections in Schleswig-Holstein. In his resignation, the father of the family speaks of an existential borderline situation in which he found himself before the 1987 state election. He insists on the right to privacy and criticizes attacks on his integrity and that of his family. "The current attempt to discredit the SPD through sweeping suspicions, even to brand it as an accomplice in the machinations of the time, is misguided. The aim of this is to prevent the necessary change of government in Bonn. That must not succeed."
The 53-year-old further explains:"Because of this process, my political credibility was called into question, on which many people in Schleswig-Holstein, throughout the Federal Republic and especially in my party have built. Without this trust capital, I could neither my state Schleswig -Holstein still represented my party with the same impartiality and the same success as before.(...) Aware of the work done and with the intention of protecting my country and my party from being identified with my political mistake, I give my position as Prime Minister and my functions in the SPD."
Votes on Engholm's resignation
Robert Hetkamper on May 3, 1993 in the ARD Tagesthemen:
"All the same, he was consistent enough, after some hesitation, to admit his guilt and resign. Since this is not a matter of course today, he deserves credit for it."
The "Süddeutsche Zeitung" of May 5, 1993:
"Precisely because Engholm seemed to best embody what he demanded of politicians in terms of integrity, he has now fallen so brutally. He has fallen victim to his own criteria.(...) Engholm's fall also makes the deep intellectual one Apparently a crisis in which all parties are stuck without exception."
The "Neue Zürcher Zeitung" of May 5, 1993:
"The 53-year-old Engholm has proved to be a shocking political lightweight who tried to compensate for his weaknesses in leadership with a special moral style, the high standards of which the protagonist of such a 'different policy' has now failed himself."
"Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" of May 4, 1993:
"As undivided as the SPD's support for party leader Engholm was at first, the motives of those who urged him to be proclaimed candidate for chancellor were just as shaded. (...) Whether Engholm really wanted to become chancellor is also in view of his contemplative nature inclined towards enjoyment of life is questionable."
Snipers from Bonn?
In the Schleswig-Holstein SPD there is horror at Engholm's resignation and at the same time disappointment at his lie. The Kiel SPD parliamentary group leader Gert Boernsen speaks of "anger at confidants who spoiled Engholm's honorable departure". Because on April 29, the SPD leader confided in his closest associates his plans to resign on May 3. But on April 30, the "Spiegel" reported in advance that Engholm had "bent the truth" in 1987. Now it looks as if the often hesitant Schleswig-Holsteiner only reacted to the article with his resignation. Earlier than others, Engholm inaugurated the Kiel SPD member of the Bundestag Norbert Gansel. Therefore, this is now considered by some to be a traitor. On the other hand, many Schleswig-Holsteiners suspect that comrades from Bonn gave information to the media.
"Case bears no relation to Barschel scandal"
After Engholm's resignation, Johannes Rau becomes acting SPD party chairman.While there is harsh criticism of Engholm from the CDU and FDP, the SPD admits the mistake of its leading politician. However, she also points out that Engholm's false testimony cannot be compared with Barschel's criminal machinations. Johannes Rau, who is temporarily taking over the SPD presidency, said on May 3 in the "Süddeutsche Zeitung":Although the new information was an "important detail", it was "disproportionate to the actual scandal" surrounding Uwe Barschel.
Alluding to the misconduct of other politicians, the then editor-in-chief of the "Frankfurter Rundschau", Roderich Reifenrath, wrote in relation to Engholm's resignation:"Many others in similar roles would have sat out such situations with a broad grin." Allegations that Engholm is too sensitive and has no leadership qualities have been around for a long time. In the course of the drawer affair, they get loud again. A few months after his resignation, Engholm confessed in a newspaper interview:"They were looking for a different type of politician, someone who would grab and hit it. Yes, it's possible, sometimes I didn't have it firmly in my hands."
Party base feels betrayed
Björn Engholm set high moral standards - and failed at it himself.The resignation for the party base is a hard blow, they feel betrayed. At the end of March, Engholm went on the offensive at several district party conferences in northern Germany, invoking values such as honesty and reciprocity. It was not until April 22 that the top candidate confessed to his closest advisors that he lied to the first Barschel investigative committee in 1987. Engholm is now aware that his misconduct can no longer be considered "petitesse", as he once described it. However, Engholm and his team are not developing a strategy to solve the crisis.
Simonis becomes the first country manager
After the departure of their hopefuls, the SPD faces a major challenge. She has to fill new positions, find a new line, regain credibility. The party's polls are plummeting. In a primary election in the summer of 1993, the SPD chose the head of government in Rhineland-Palatinate, Rudolf Scharping, as their new party leader. Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Gerhard Schröder, who expressed early ambitions for the chancellor candidacy, is defeated. But the change of power in the 1994 Bundestag elections does not succeed.
In 1993, Heide Simonis took over the office of Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein. She reigns until 2005.Heide Simonis becomes the new Prime Minister in Kiel - the first in the Federal Republic. Since Jansen's resignation, the Finance Minister has been Engholm's deputy. She remained at the head of the Schleswig-Holstein state government until 2005. Norbert Gansel would also have liked to become prime minister. But the primary election of the candidates demanded by him does not find approval in the SPD state executive. That puts Gansel out of the running.
Hopes for a new style of politics have not been fulfilled
After Barschel's resignation in September 1987, Engholm embodied the hope of many people for a different, more honest policy based on high moral standards. But the events and revelations of the spring of 1993 show that claims and reality do not match for this beacon of hope either. Engholm himself makes it clear that he is no longer prepared to withstand public and media pressure. "We shouldn't be surprised if less and less competent personalities are willing to surrender to this stress," Peter Ellgaard points out in a ZDF-heute program. With the resignation of the thoughtful North German, hopes for a new style of politics were initially dashed.