Germany: Chancellor’s challenger denies he has sold his soul to bankers

Former finance minister Peer Steinbrück, who will lead the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) into the 2013 election, told a national TV audience yesterday he had earned €1.25 million for 89 speeches since 2009, but said he had donated some money to charity.

The extra income has stirred a sharp debate in Germany, where the average of €7,300 net per speech that Mr Steinbrück earned is three times the monthly pay of most workers.

“It’s an absurd accusation that I’ve somehow become dependent on those who invited me for these speeches,” Mr Steinbrück said, a reference to the high number of banks and financial industry groups that invited him.

“The accusations are groundless,” he added, appearing uncomfortable during a 25-minute news conference. “They’re dim-witted. I actually used these appearances to read the riot act to these financial institutions.”

Mr Steinbrück, whose party trails Ms Merkel’s conservatives by about 10 percentage points, was already facing an uphill fight to oust the chancellor.

Ms Steinbrück, 65, has faced a slew of criticism from Ms Merkel’s coalition, but also from the SPD’s left wing and from anti-graft campaigners, even though he had not violated any German disclosure rules.

Mr Steinbrück sought to turn the tables on his critics by releasing details of his income and calling upon the ruling parties to follow suit.

“I’d like to set an example for other parties,” Mr Steinbrück said. “To some of those out there who tried to throw a stone at my head with accusations of lacking transparency, I’d like to turn that stone into a boomerang now and throw it back at them.”