Uwe Barschel sits with journalists over coffee at the idyllic Steinhorst estate in Lauenburg. It is Saturday, September 12, 1987, one day before the eagerly awaited state elections in Schleswig-Holstein. The incumbent prime minister wants to end a long and tough election campaign in a relaxed atmosphere. While peace still reigns at Gut Steinhorst, a report is making waves in Hamburg:"Barschel's dirty tricks" is the name of the "Spiegel" cover story from the following Monday. At around 3 p.m., the NDR first reported on the allegations described therein that CDU man Barschel wanted to harm his political opponent Björn Engholm (SPD) with a campaign of slander and spying. Barely two hours later, Barschel takes a stand. He denies it, describing the allegations by his media officer Reiner Pfeiffer as "stunken and lied". Excerpts from the press conference are shown on the evening news on television. In a few hours, the polling stations will open their doors. How will the people of Schleswig-Holstein react to the alleged revelations?
Attack on Engholm's private life
What reads like the plot of a political thriller begins as early as January 1987. The CDU is facing a tough election campaign in the northernmost state of the republic, because the SPD, with its charismatic top candidate Björn Engholm, has become an opponent that needs to be taken seriously. For the first time since 1950, the Christian Democrats could lose their absolute majority in the state parliament. Prime Minister Barschel is looking for a media officer to support him - and is recommended the journalist Reiner Pfeiffer by the Axel Springer publishing house.
Reiner Pfeiffer claims to have received the order for the actions against Engholm from Uwe Barschel.He immediately went into action and filed an anonymous complaint - allegedly with a letter dictated by Barschel - for tax evasion against Engholm. The tax file of the SPD politician is checked and found to be completely correct. In February, Pfeiffer commissioned a Bremerhaven detective agency to spy on Engholm. The aim is to uncover any homosexual tendencies or extramarital sexual excesses of the challenger. Finally, Pfeiffer calls Engholm's home. He poses as a doctor, Dr. Wagner and confronts the politician with the claim that he has evidence of his alleged AIDS disease. Pfeiffer even tries to procure a telephone bug. It is to be placed in Barschel's office in order to then blame the opposition for a wiretapping scandal. None of the actions lead to the desired result. The plan to discredit Engholm fails.
First news about spying
SPD politician Björn Engholm should be defamed with targeted spying and slander.A week before the election, the unveiling of the machinations begins. In an interview with a "Spiegel" editor, Engholm talked about some of the measures taken against him, but asked the journalists to maintain secrecy. But another SPD man - Klaus Nilius, press spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group - spoke to the "Spiegel" editors and reported on the actions against the SPD candidate. On September 7th, the Hamburg news magazine published the first article about dirty tricks in the Kiel election campaign. Based on the "Watergate" scandal surrounding US President Richard Nixon, the events in the far north are given the name "Waterkantgate".
Nothing is known about Reiner Pfeiffer's activities at this time. But that changes quickly. Pfeiffer unpacked as early as September 9th. During a discussion organized by Nilius with "Spiegel" editors, Barschel's media officer described the illegal activities against Engholm under affidavits. To do this, he presented Barschel's alleged handwritten notes as evidence - and collected 165,000 marks. Despite special precautions, details of the cover story leaked out and became known nationwide on the day before the election. As a result, "Spiegel" was accused of having influenced the outcome of the elections when the Barschel-Pfeiffer affair became known on the eve.
Barschel:"I give you my word of honour!"
The state elections on September 13, 1987 ended in disaster for Barschel. His CDU, which had won an absolute majority in 1983 with 49 percent of the vote, only gets 42.6 percent. The SPD won the election with 45.2 percent. But Barschel is not yet defeated. On September 18, he declared at a press conference:"In addition to these affidavits, which are about to be presented to you, I give you, I give the citizens of the state of Schleswig-Holstein and the entire German public my word of honor - I repeat:I give you my word of honor ! - that the allegations against me are unfounded." In the following days, however, Barschel loses all support in his party and resigns as Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein on October 2nd.
Committee of inquiry confirms Barschel's complicity
The Schleswig-Holstein state parliament sets up a committee of inquiry. In the course of the investigation, Barschel is heavily incriminated by several witnesses. In the final report, the committee came to the conclusion in February 1988 that Barschel was aware of numerous activities by Pfeiffer, or that he was at least likely to be an accomplice. At the same time, it becomes clear that several SPD politicians had received information from Pfeiffer for a long time. Barschel is scheduled to testify before the investigative committee on October 12. However, the politician is found dead in a Geneva hotel on October 11.
SPD wins absolute majority in new election
A new state government cannot be formed for the time being. The election result leads to a stalemate in the state parliament. A coalition of CDU and FDP and an alliance of the SPD with the SSW MP Meyer are on par. Since he refuses to vote for a CDU candidate, a new election is necessary. Barschel's previous deputy, Henning Schwarz (CDU), will initially take over the official business. In the new elections on May 8, 1988, the SPD emerged as the winner with 54.8 percent. On May 31, the state parliament elects Engholm as prime minister. Five years later, it turns out that Engholm, contrary to earlier assurances, knew about Pfeiffer's machinations during the 1987 election campaign. He resigns.