Suche
Mein Konto
New ministerial law: 18 months waiting period for ex-politicians in Rhineland-Palatinate
The new waiting period regulation for ministers in Rhineland-Palatinate strengthens transparency and trust in democracy. Changes 2026.
New ministerial law: 18 months waiting period for ex-politicians in Rhineland-Palatinate
The Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament recently passed a significant change in the law that affects the ministerial law. In the future, former ministers will not be allowed to take a new job in business for up to 18 months after leaving office in order to avoid problematic conflicts of interest. This regulation was passed unanimously and is expected to come into force in May 2026, when a new state government takes office. The shortening of the transitional allowance for these former ministers from three to two years was also decided and is based on regulations from other federal states and the federal government. This change was originally introduced by the CDU, and the cooperation between the factions was praised, according to a report by n-tv. Interestingly, there has so far been no case in Rhineland-Palatinate in which these regulations were actually applied.
It's not just Rhineland-Palatinate that deals with maternity leave. The SPD and the CDU/CSU have also agreed on a waiting period of 12 months, which can be extended to 18 months in sensitive cases. Important players, such as Christian Humborg from Transparency Germany, described these regulations as overdue. However, criticism comes from various quarters, which call for a transition period of three years before a new employment contract can be signed. Ministers or parliamentary state secretaries must also report their change immediately, and the cabinet then examines in each individual case whether a waiting period needs to be observed due to possible conflicts of interest, supported by an advisory committee. These developments show that the issue of waiting periods is becoming more and more important in politics ( Transparency Germany ).
Criticism of waiting periods in Germany
The waiting period regulations have been established not only in Rhineland-Palatinate, but also at federal and state levels in order to prevent the “revolving door effect”. This means that politicians are not allowed to switch to lobbying or other conflict-related professions immediately after their political career. In Germany there has been a uniform regulation since 2015 that provides for a waiting period of up to 18 months under certain conditions ( Lobbypedia ). However, these regulations have been criticized in various ways, for example because they are considered too short and inconsistent.
Prominent examples of problematic changes of sides in federal politics include Gerhard Schröder to Gazprom and Ronald Pofalla to Deutsche Bahn. It is being discussed whether the short waiting periods are actually sufficient to maintain citizens' trust in political work. While some are calling for lobbying activities to be completely banned during the waiting period, ways are also being sought to improve the sanction options ( n-tv ).
The EU Commission has criticized the German regulations as “fragmented and inconsistent” and called for more transparency. GRECO, the Group of States Against Corruption, has also contacted Germany in the past and called for significant changes to extend waiting periods and increase transparency in decisions.