Stefan Gelbhaar lost his direct candidacy and had to forego his place on the state list. But the most important person affected does not exist. The case could also harm Robert Habeck.
The man still had a career: a Green Party election poster with Bundestag candidate Stefan Gelbhaar in February.
Imago
The story of the politician Stefan Gelbhaar had all the ingredients for a scandal. A member of the Green Party, for whom careful behavior is particularly important, is accused by several women of sexual harassment. He is a direct candidate for the German parliament in the Berlin-Pankow district association, a stronghold of climate-conscious cargo cyclists, where the cross is the standard setting for the Greens and everything else is a deviation. Whoever the party appoints there will almost certainly have a seat in the Bundestag.
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But now it turns out: The central accusation of sexual harassment against the 48-year-old yellow-haired man was most likely made up. And there are also doubts about the other allegations against the man. What is particularly piquant is that because of the allegations, Gelbhaar initially gave up second place on the state list for the Bundestag in favor of a very special candidate: Andreas Audretsch, Robert Habeck’s campaign manager.
In recent months, Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, a public broadcaster, has primarily reported on the allegations against Gelbhaar. The reports were based on statements from several women allegedly affected who submitted affidavits. Anyone who does this must tell the truth, otherwise they may be liable to prosecution. But after research by the Berlin “Tagesspiegel” the story largely collapsed. The central victim apparently doesn’t even exist, as the Berlin-Brandenburg broadcaster itself announced.
“It is now clear,” the station wrote on Friday evening, “Anne K. was not who she claimed to be. It’s very likely that this woman doesn’t even exist.” What’s more, there may be a Green district representative behind it. Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg has filed a criminal complaint against the woman.
-Some now speak of an intrigue
That still leaves the allegations from other women. But they weigh much less. According to the broadcaster, they have a “significantly lower fall height”. In addition, one now has to doubt whether they are even true. According to the broadcaster, there are indications that some of the “anonymous reports” received by the Green Party ombudsman could also have come from the fraudster.
Gelbhaar himself has always denied the allegations. The former chairwoman of the Green parliamentary group, Kerstin Müller, now speaks openly of an “intrigue”. She told the editorial network Germany that “an unpleasant person should probably be damaged and taken out of circulation”.
The Green party headquarters also reacted. The party leaders Franziska Brantner and Felix Banaszak called the process “serious”. Anyone who makes false statements under oath is not only committing a crime, but is also causing “significant damage” to the party. However, the two did not mention the name of the Green district chairwoman who was accused of lying.
They also didn’t mention the name Yellowhair. His party career was completely destroyed. In December he gave up his place on the list for the German parliament in favor of Andreas Audretsch, and at the beginning of January he also lost the direct candidacy of the Berlin-Pankow district association. It is also uncertain whether the party will be able to put him up again due to the deadlines.
Criticism of the party’s handling of yellow hair
The case could also harm Robert Habeck. According to the “Berliner Zeitung”, Gelbhaar did not necessarily give up his place on the state list of his own free will. There had previously been a conversation with the federal office. A number of questions now arise: Did the party want to provide its top candidate’s campaign manager with a secure seat in the Bundestag? Did the Greens know how untrustworthy some of the allegations against the man were and still accepted the situation?
One thing is already clear: There has been criticism for a long time about how the case was handled there. “Our party cannot throw someone out because of unproven allegations,” said Berlin MP Andreas Otto from the Greens a few days ago.
In fact, it is a scandal. Just a completely different one than initially expected.
