SPD criticized for appointing Goldman Sachs banker as finance ministry secretary of state

BERLIN, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The German Social Democrats (SPD) was criticized on Tuesday for appointing Joerg Kukies, a senior executive at the U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs, as one of four secretaries of state under the new finance minister Olaf Scholz (SPD).

Christian Democratic Union (CDU) budgetary expert Eckhardt Rehberg described the decision as "dubious" in the newspaper "Passauer Neue Presse" and questioned the extent of Kukies' dedication to public service.

"It raises the question if he really serves the interests of the federal government, or those of his former industry," Rehberg said.

Kukies is stepping down from his role as co-head of Goldman Sachs' operations in Germany to assist Scholz in the areas of European policy and financial regulation. The 50-year-old card-carrying member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) once presided over the SPD's regional youth organisation (Juso) in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, a position in which he was succeeded by the current SPD parliamentary faction leader Andrea Nahles.

Kukies subsequently studied economics at Harvard and received a doctorate from the University of Chicago before working for Goldman Sachs in London and Frankfurt. Compared with the widely-acknowledged phenomenon of a "revolving door" in the U.S. capital Washington, it is relatively uncommon for executives in Germany to transfer between careers in business and politics.

A spokesperson for the finance ministry justified the personnel decision with reference to the financial industry executive's expertise in questions of banking supervision and European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). The spokesperson further said that it was a positive development if an accomplished manager in the private sector chose to place his talents in the service of government.

Nevertheless, the Green party (Gruene) attacked the SPD for allegedly giving up its social-democratic values. Gerhard Schick, Green party finance expert said to press that Scholz was making a "mistake by listening to investment bankers and their friends in questions concerning financial markets."

"That the SPD would even consider making an investment banker responsible for banking regulation demonstrates the current problems of social democracy," Schick added. It was hypocritical of the SPD to criticize the appointment of the former European Union (EU) commission president Jose Manuel Barroso as an advisor to Goldman Sachs, only to subsequently recruit the co-head of the company's German division.

Founded in 1869 and based in New York City, Goldman Sachs is one of the largest and most profitable investment banks in the world. Due to the financial institute's close connections to an extensive network of global political elites, it is often referred to by the nickname "Government Sachs". Enditem